So What Should Love Be Like?
by The Lone Arcanum
Summary: Kaoru has been kiddnapped by Ace! He is holding Kaoru hostage! At the same time, Butch is nearly mentally killing himself by Kaoru's disapperence! Will he be able to save her before it is too late? Previously known as "Mission: Saving Kaoru". Prequel/Sequel to "This Is Not Love" by Marinav92. KaoruXButch. Rated T just to be safe. CH.11 IS UP.
1. Prologue

**xD **_**HELLO! Well, this is the sequel to SasukexNaruto4ever10092's story of "This isn't love". AND BEFORE YOU ALL GET ANY IDEAS, I didn't steal this story from her! I had asked her to write a sequel, but she said that she was a little busy, so she wanted to know if I could write the sequel instead and as you can all see, I said "yes". If you don't believe me, you can PM her yourself! I would have asked her to put that on her profile, but TODAY is her BIRTHDAY so I wanted to update this today as a surprise for her. I shall ask her to do that later after she reads and reviews. So just to let you all know, this isn't just my story, this is also Sasukexnaruto4ever10092's story. Now before we start with this "Before the Story" chapter, xD LET'S FIRST SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE 17 YEAR OLD BIRTHDAY GIRL! This is the way we sung Happy Birthday at my old elementary school, SO SING IT LOUD!**_

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! Cha cha cha!**_

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! Cha cha cha!**_

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SASUKEXNARUTO4EVER10092/MIRINA! Cha Cha Cha!**_

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! Cha cha cha! Ooh la la!**_

_**x3 YAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SASUKEXNARUTO4EVER10092! AND HOPE YOU HAVE MANY MORE!**_

_**Now I believe that I am wasting enough of your time right now, so let's get on with the story shall we? Hope you enjoy! Though for now, I'm uncertain.**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PPGz!**_

* * *

Butch was in his room, lying in bed, and he was not in a happy mood.

He and his brothers were on the side of justice now. They were no longer villains and they now lived with the Professor. They had started going to school with the Powerpuff Girls z last year when they were all going to start the first year of high school. Just like the Powerpuff Girls z, whom unknown to mostly all of Tokyo were actually Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru, the Rowdyruff Boys z also kept their true selves secret. When they were not in their superhero forms, they were known as Akemi (Brick), Riku (Boomer), and Yoshi (Butch). The boys were now a little taller than the girls, though only by a couple of inches. Due to a little incident that happened, they also now looked about the same age as their female counterparts. Over the first year, the boys were slowly also falling in love with the PPGz and now they were all paired with each other.

Momoko and Brick/Akemi were now a couple and Momoko was no longer alone with boy crazy problems. They actually got along really well, like PB&J or Peas in a Pod. Truth be told, their relationship was really good to the point where it was so cute that it was a little disturbing enough to call them an official baka couple.

Miyako and Boomer/Riku were now also a couple. Though it did take a while. First, Boomer had to help cheer up a heart broken Miyako who had been unsuccessful in getting Taka-kun to be her boyfriend. It turned out that he had only thought of her as a little sister. He hadn't really thought of her as a girlfriend or anything. But Boomer did, and now Miyako was happy again.

Finally, there was Kaoru and Butch/Yoshi. Kaoru and Butch, surprisingly were also a pretty good couple. They really loved each other and the reason was mostly because they understood each other in ways that no one else had bothered with before. It's a long story. Also, much to everyone's surprise, Butch ended up being the only BOY besides her brothers and probably other family members who could make Kaoru laugh and smile and to whom Kaoru happily gave hugs to. But then again, LOVE was supposed to be like that, wasn't it?

Now the our heroines and heroes were all in 2nd year of high school. Everything seemed to be going perfectly, but then THAT had to happen.

Kaoru. Yes. Kaoru was the reason for Butch's mood. It was only a few hours ago that Kaoru had disappeared. Even worse, Butch knew it was a kidnap, and yet, he or in this case, NO ONE even knew who the kidnapper or kidnappers was or were. Butch was nearly mentally and physically killing himself (he had actually banged his head against the wall a while back before he let himself drop on his bed). If only he hadn't left her side yesterday, if only he had seen who it had been that took her, then this would have probably never happened! Yet, he had no clue. And neither did no one else. And chances were that Kaoru would never again appear. He would probably never again get to feel her warm hugs, or see her bright yet mischievous grin, or hear her cute laugh that sounded like music to his ears, which she specially gave to him ONLY.

Butch opened his eyes and looked sadly at the ceiling.

"Kaoru."

* * *

_**Well? What did you all think? Hope I get some good reviews coming! Anyway, right now I got to go prepare some more chapters for my other stories. So the next chapter may not come too soon. Though I can assure you that there will be LOTS of updatings for ALL of my stories once summer vacation starts. Anyway, got to go! And please make sure to say "Happy Birthday" to SasukeXnaruto4ever10092 today on May 27.**_


	2. Butch's Recallings!

**OK! So here we finally have it! The very long awaited chapter 1 of "Mission: Saving Kaoru". Now before I start, I have a few things to say…**

**1) Sorry it took so long to update, but I had to make a whole bunch of changes to my other story of "Cursed Child" and u_u I sadly admit that I was watching too much Detective Conan. xD I love the show! It was to great ok! Dx So it's not my fault that I got addicted!**

**2) The other thing I want to say has to do with the story and the way I'm going to be writing it. As most of you may already know, the idea of the story isn't my own. I DO NOT OWN THE PLOT OR THE CARTOON! This fanatic is just a sequel to SasukexNaruto4ever10092's story of "This isn't love". So I do not own the plot! SasukexNaruto4ever10092 does! And this is just the sequel!**

**Anyway, I think I've already taken enough space with explanations. So enough with the chit-chat and let's start reading!**

**Please enjoy, though at this point, I'm still in my doubts.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PPGz!**

* * *

Yoshi was hurrying from the Professor's house to street where Kaoru lived. Akemi was hurrying over to Momoko and Riku was hurrying over to Miyako. So Yoshi was pretty much on his own. Finally, Yoshi reached Kaoru's house. He rang the doorbell. The one who answered the door was Kaoru's mother.

"Good Morning Yoshi-kun!" Kaoru's mother greeted happily.

"Good Morning Mitsuko-san! Is Kaoru there?" Yoshi greeted back.

"Yes. She's here. Wait one moment." Kaoru's mother answered. "Kaoru! Yoshi is here! You can't keep him waiting forever!"

From somewhere down the hall, Kaoru's voice could be heard, "I'M COMING MOM!"

"Hey! Yoshi-nii's here?" asked Kaoru's younger brother Shou. "It is him!" Shou later said when he went to the door way.

"Hey Yoshi! How're you doing?" Kaoru's older brother Dai said as he also came walking to the door way.

"Hey Dai. And the mornings the same as usual!" Yoshi answered. "Morning Shou."

"Good Morning!" Shou answered back happily. "Hey dad! Yoshi-nii is here!"

All of a sudden, Kaoru's dad came running. He then quickly put Yoshi into a wrestling hug, unknowing to him that it was actually suffocating the boy. "Yoshi! Good Morning! Nice to see you!"

"G-Good Mo-rn-ing To-kio-sa-an." Yoshi barely said as he was almost suffocating.

"Uh, dad? Can you please put him down? Before you finish killing him?" Dai asked nervously.

Kaoru's dad looked at Yoshi who was almost turning blue and quickly put him down.

"So how have your brothers been doing lately?" Kaoru's mother asked after Yoshi had finally recovered.

"They're doing pretty good. At least I think. You know my brothers! They can sometimes be unpredictable! But we're all getting along pretty well." Yoshi answered.

Finally, Kaoru came to the doorway. "Morning Yoshi!"

"Good mornin Kaoru!" Yoshi greeted back. "Ready to walk to school?"

Kaoru nodded her head.

"And Kaoru, here's your lunch. It's your favorite. Eel and egg!" Kaoru's mother said handing her the bento box.

"Arigato Okaasan!" Kaoru said.

After this, Kaoru and Yoshi headed out the door.

* * *

As you all might have already noticed at this point, Yoshi really got along REALLY well with Kaoru's family. In fact, they all mostly treated Yoshi like he was a member. Especially since, besides the fact that he would walk with Kaoru every day to school, Yoshi would usually go there to have dinner; and sometimes even lunch during the weekends when he went over to play/train with Dai and Shou. Kaoru's mother was fond of him sometimes saying how she felt like she had a third son, especially seeing as how Yoshi was well mannered. Kaoru's dad was happy that Kaoru chose a guy who also loved wrestling (Yoshi was a big fan of Tokio) and sports. Dai was almost Yoshi's best friend and as seen, Shou treated Yoshi like an older brother. So they really didn't have any problems with the fact that Yoshi was Kaoru's boyfriend. If anything, they were probably waiting anxiously for the day when Yoshi would truly become an in-law, though Kaoru's brothers did tease her a little for a while saying how it was incredible that even the famous tomboy Kaoru would be into romance.

As Kaoru and Yoshi were nearing the school, they soon found Akemi, Momoko, Riku, and Miyako. Like Yoshi, Akemi would usually go and walk with Momoko while Riku would go and walk with Miyako.

"Good morning!" They all greeted each other.

* * *

Over the years, Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru had outgrown their old cloths and were now wearing new outfits.

Momoko had ditched the ridiculously long pony tail last year. Her hair was still long, but it now reached her knees instead, since she found that it was impossible to walk with her hair without its signature ponytail. She still kept the bow though, but it was now at the back of her head in a braided half-ponytail. Due to the fact that she felt that she should try to look nice for Akemi (who was pretty popular), she now tried to make an effort to dress a little more maturely. Now she wore a light pink bow front frill shoulder top with a white straight mini skirt and white gladiator sandals. She also wore her PPGz belt.

Miyako also decided to change herself a little after last year, actually, the day that Momoko went to change her hairstyle, Miyako went with her (they couldn't convince Kaoru to join them). She also decided that maybe she was a little too old for ponytails, so now instead she wore her hair loose and even though they weren't in ponytails, her hair was split into two parts, both at the front but on opposite shoulders. By the way, she still kept the curls. Other than that, she wore a white short-sleeved demin jacket over a Summer Button Navy Bubble Dress and white ballet flats. Like Momoko, she also wore her PPGz belt.

Kaoru, for Yoshi's sake (she didn't want people to think that Yoshi was going out with a guy) was now wearing an outfit that wasn't too tomboyish, but wasn't too girly either. Under her mother's (forced) influence, her hair was no longer spikey and was now straight. It was also at the length where it just barely touched her shoulders. Her usual outfit consisted of gray drape vest over a white top, a pair of green eight-button high waist shorts, and a pair of green converses (she still refuses to wear heels). She also wore a star-shaped locket that Yoshi had gotten her last year along with an wrist sweat-band that he had also gotten her last year. Like Momoko and Miyako, she wore her belt.

The boys also had their own outfits as well as a little bit of changes…

Akemi/Brick wore a red T-shirt, and baggy jeans. He also wore white sneakers. Seeing as how Momoko decided to change her hairstyle, and seeing as how there wasn't much that a boy could do with their own hair, Akemi had only managed to straighten his hair out and tie it back ponytail. Just like how Momoko had kept her bow, he still kept his hat. The Rowdyruff boys also didn't have belts (since the way they were styled was a little too girly for their tastes), instead they had wrist watches that kept their compact disks, so all was good.

Riku/Boomer also changed his hairstyle a little and just like Miyako with Momoko, the day Akemi decided to go straighten his hair out, Riku went with him. Riku, however, was able to do a little more than just straighten it as he also cut it and therefore his hair was now shorter and up to his back neck. The old style spikey style that he used to have with his bangs was still there though. His usual outfit consisted of a blue-plaided short-sleeved open jacket over a white T-shirt, blue baggy jeans, and blue converse. Like Akemi, he also had a watch, except his compact disk was dark blue.

Yoshi/Butch was the one who had really done stuff with his hair. Under the advice of Dai (who dragged him to the nearest hair salon), he ditched the ponytail and made his hair spikey (like Dai's hairstyle). However, under the advice of the salon lady who cut his hair, he still kept the shy eye (and did not give her his number). He wore a black Impossible Pentagon T-shirt that which the pentagon drawing was outlined in green and the T-shirt itself was black. He also wore baggy jeans, but he wore the T-shirt tucked into his pants and wore a black belt along with black shoes. Also, under the influence of god-knows-who (the world shall never know), he had decided to get his ears pierced three times. Once on the bottom left ear (a plain black stud), twice on the bottom right ear (a plain black stud and a silver huggie hoop) , and although he did not pierce the top right ear he still wore a silver ear cuff in that area.

* * *

Anyways continuing on, after they had said their greetings, the group all went inside the school before they were late for class.

Speaking of class, ever since the first year of high school, the group had been split up into three different classes. This was due to logical reason since it would surely get really awkward (not to mention embarrassing and overly suspicious) if all 6 of them were to leave in the middle of a lecture in the SAME CLASS. Momoko and Akemi were in one class, Miyako and Riku were in another class, and Kaoru and Butch were in another class. They still had lunch together though. Also, to add even less suspicion to themselves (and to not drop back in their grades), they decided to adopt a policy where they would each take turns responding to a call for help. Seeing as how it was VERY RARELY that a plea for help needed all 6 of them to power up and save the day, they mostly made a system where two or three of them would go at a time. So far it still worked.

Ah and speak of the devil. 1 hour into class time and in the middle of a math lecture, the Professor called to say that the Fuzzy Lumpkins was stirring up a ruckus. Seeing as how Fuzzy wasn't really much of a major threat, this time it was a two person team thing as Blossom and Butch went to take care of the issue while Kaoru and Akemi would later fill them in on whatever notes they missed. While that was going on, poor Fuzzy would later learn from his "chat" with Blossom and Butch that at the rate that he was going, the only thing that belonged to him was a can of whoop-ass.

The rest of the day however, was thankfully peaceful and before long, the day's classes were finally over.

* * *

Akemi, Momoko, Riku, Miyako, Yoshi, and Kaoru all walked home together until they reached a certain point where they split up. Akemi walked Momoko home, Riku walked Miyako to her house, and Yoshi walked Kaoru. Usually, after they were done, the brothers would meet up at the place where they split up and continue on together to the Professor's house from there.

Yoshi waited until he had finally split up and was far from hearing range from his brothers and was alone with Kaoru before he started talking.

"Hey Kaoru…" Yoshi started.

"What?" Kaoru asked.

"Well, you know how in two days it's going to be Sunday right?" Yoshi continued.

"Yeah" answered Kaoru.

"Well, I was wondering if there is anything important you have to do on that day?" Yoshi asked.

Kaoru thought for a minute then answered, "Not really. Why?"

"Well, there is this movie called '300' that's in theaters that I thought you might be interested in and there is also this restaurant I know that sells great food at a good price…" Yoshi continued. "And I was wondering if maybe you might want to come with me…on a date."

"Hmm…If I want to maybe." Kaoru said, almost too seriously.

"Eh?!" Yoshi exclaimed, nearly feeling his heart about to break.

Kaoru smiled and laughed mischievously at her prank as she spoke. "I'm only teasing! Of course I'd like to come!"

Yoshi smiled happily. "Ok then! It's settled! 11:00 am on Sunday?"

"Sure"

"Oh and Kaoru, one more thing." Yoshi added.

"What?" Kaoru asked.

Yoshi looked at Kaoru and smiled brightly, but gently. "Thanks"

"Huh?" Now Kaoru was confused. "Thanks for what."

At that, Yoshi's face turned blushed red as he regretted having opened his mouth. "Uh…I'll just leave you to figure that out!" He said, trying to see if he could laugh it off.

Kaoru, however, was now curious. "Oh no you don't! Tell me!"

"You're going to have to beat me first!" Yoshi said. "Let's make it a race, first one to that lamp pole that right before your house! Ready, Set, Go!"

"No fair! You got a quick start!"

"Shouldn't matter!" Yoshi yelled back.

Somehow or another though, Kaoru managed to keep up with him and she managed to pull out just enough strength to win by an inch.

"I can't win against you can I?" Yoshi chuckled to himself.

"Not yet my dear pupil." Kaoru chuckled back. "So tell me already. What did you mean?"

Not knowing how to put it in words, Yoshi mustered up his courage and did the next best thing. He held Kaoru's hands and, before she could say anything, he gently kissed her on the forehead.

Now it was Kaoru's turn to blush deep red as she put her hand over where Yoshi had kissed her.

"Thanks, for going out with me. I feel very lucky." Yoshi said finally.

Kaoru looked at him and, understanding what he was trying to say, gave him a slight punch on the shoulder. "Baka, is going out with me really something to be that thankful about?" She walked a few steps ahead of Yoshi (who was now confused himself) before she stopped. "But, I think I can see your point." She paused as she turned around to smile at him. "I also feel happy going out with you."

Yoshi blushed a little once again, but nonetheless, he and Kaoru continued their walk. Seeing as there was still a block to go, it wasn't long before the two were holding hands for the rest of the way.

* * *

**n_n Well, this is the end of this chapter. I was going to write something extra, but then I changed my mind and decided to put what it was that I was going to write in the next chapter instead. Anyway, right now, I got to go onto preparing for the next chapter of "Cursed Child". Please review. u.u And sorry if this chapter was hard to understand.**

**Peace and Out.**


	3. Butch's Dating Problem!

**xD HELLO! LONG TIME NO SEE! u_u Anyway, I'm really sorry for not being able to update for so long. Dx SCHOOL IS A TORTURE ZONE! Apparently I had to start getting settled. I'm already a bit settled, but not to much. Before I did anything else, I was reminding myself to write this chapter and update it. I don't think it's that good, but it's better than nothing. Oh, that reminds me. I also must add that I've been reading too much manga and I've also been spending to much time on Gaiaonline! THAT WEBSITE IS ADDICTING! Anyway, again, I am very sorry and I hope you enjoy this chapter. By the way, I still stink at writing!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PPGz!**

* * *

Yoshi was now running back to his brothers' meeting spot. Akemi and Riku were already there.

"Hey Yoshi, how did it go? Did you ask her?" Akemi asked as they started walking.

"Yeah, I did!" Yoshi answered happily.

"And…what did she say?" asked Riku.

"She said yes. What else did you think she'd say?" Yoshi said, reverting back to his normal maturely cool, but happy tone.

"I think I should be the one asking you that." Akemi stated. "You were the one who was wondering whether or not she'd accept at all."

"No I wasn't." Yoshi was now feeling a bit annoyed.

"Yes you were." Riku said.

"No I wasn't!" Yoshi said back.

"Yes you were and you know it." Akemi said.

"I was not!" Yoshi said again.

"You were to." said Riku.

"Was not!"

"Was to." Akemi said.

"Nuh-uh!" Yoshi said back annoyed.

"Yeah huh!" said Riku.

"No" Yoshi said.

"YES!" Akemi and Riku said this time together.

"Ok! So maybe I was wondering a little." said Yoshi finally giving up (though not fully admitting it). "But she has sports activities! It wouldn't have been all too surprising if she had had to go practice on that day!"

"On a Sunday?" Riku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You never know." Yoshi answered.

"Right." Akemi said in a sarcastic tone. "Anyways, Riku, you've got his cloths ready?"

"I'm just about done." Riku said.

"Now wait a minute! I can dress myself you know!" Yoshi said, getting a bit angry than annoyed.

"Of course you can." Akemi said, still sarcastic. "And Riku here discovered the cure for cancer."

"HEY!" Riku said a bit annoyed with the example his brother had used. "You better not be calling my dumb!"

"Whatever!" Akemi said, ignoring Riku, "Main point is that we're going to help you get dressed."

"Didn't I just say that I can dress myself?" Yoshi said, still angry.

"Well…" Riku stared, laughing a little.

"What's so funny?" Yoshi asked, giving a glare.

"Well, the truth is…" Riku continued.

"Well?" Yoshi asked, still waiting for Riku to finish. "GET ON WITH IT!"

"Well, we hate to break to you, but the truth is…" Akemi said also starting to laugh himself.

"When you're normal you can dress yourself just fine…" Riku started.

"But when it comes to something exciting, like a date with Kaoru, well…" Akemi continued.

"When you're like that, your style of dressing is a little…" said Riku. "A little…"

"A LITTLE WHAT!?" Yoshi yelled getting impatient.

"Well let's just say it's…unique." Akemi answered.

"What do you mean by that?" Yoshi asked straight out flat.

"You see, the way you dress when you aren't clam isn't exactly right." Riku said finally confessing. "You sort of dress funny and the way you plan on dressing when you go to a date is really HORRIBLE! You almost look like a clown!"

"No I don't." Yoshi said getting even angrier.

"Oh yes you do!" said Akemi.

"Give me a good example of when I dressed badly to go on a date!" Yoshi said.

"What about Yoshi's first date with Kaoru?" Riku asked.

"Good example! Why don't we begin straight off with the start!" Akemi said.

"What about it?" Yoshi said, giving Akemi a glare.

"Don't play dumb! You know we all remember perfectly well what happened!" said Akemi.

* * *

_Flashback…_

"Hey Yoshi, you promised Kaoru you'd meet her at 1:00 pm and It's already 12:30pm! You can't keep her waiting! First rule for a guy's first date…DON'T BE LATE! Actually, that goes for every date!" Akemi was yelling from the living room.

"OK! OK! I'M COMING!" Yoshi could be heard yelling from his room.

Akemi rolled his eyes at his brother.

"It is nice though that Kaoru accepted." complimented Riku.

"I guess. Though it did take both of them long enough! Now let's just hope our brother doesn't end up getting dumped!" Akemi said.

Riku nodded.

"Ok! I'm here!" Yoshi said, coming into the living room (which is the main place where the PPGz had there chats in the series).

"Finally! Took you long enough!" said Akemi turning around. "Now hurry up and….YOSHI WHAT ARE YOU WEARING!?"

Riku's eyes seemed like they would soon pop out of his head.

Yoshi was wearing a yellow and black long sleeve striped shirt with a short sleeve green polka dotted shirt over that. He had on faded pants that had gap rips at the knees and that were also somewhat ripped at the bottom. He had on a pair of faded white shoes in which one shoe lace of the pair wasn't tied.

"Kaoru's going to have to wait a little longer at the meeting place." Riku muttered loud enough for only Akemi to hear.

"Ok, I'm good to go. As you said, I can't be late. See ya!" Yoshi said quickly, not seeming to realize the look on Akemi's and Riku's faces.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Akemi yelled before Yoshi reached the door. "Get him!" Akemi and Riku then jumped on Yoshi and knocked him out for a while.

…_End Of Flashback!_

* * *

"Did you have to knock me out?" asked Yoshi, a bit bothered.

"At least we got to you before you left!" said Akemi. "You were looking completely ridiculous! And we being the brothers we are couldn't just let you go like that!"

"Hey! It was my first date, ok?" argued Yoshi in defense. "It's normal that I get nervous. How was I supposed to know any better?"

"That's not a good excuse." Akemi said back.

"And you still dress bad." added Riku.

"No I don't! And that example of yours doesn't count!" Yoshi said.

"Then we'll use another example." Akemi said. "What about when we all went on a triple date to the Tropical Land Amusement park? Remember that one?"

Yoshi said nothing. He remembered alright.

"I remember!" said Riku, in Yoshi's place. "How could we forget?"

* * *

_Another Flashback…_

Akemi was talking on his cell phone with Momoko. "So yeah, don't worry, we won't be late. 12:00 pm at Tropical Land! ... Yes, we know!"

Riku was right next to him listening on the conversation.

"So you and Kaoru are at Miyako's house?" Akemi was asking. Then there was some sounds coming from his phone that meant that Momoko was answering his question. "Oh! So you three decided to have a sleepover so that you could walk over to see us together." Then there were more sounds from the phone. "What's that? Kaoru wasn't so thrilled about the idea of a sleepover? You guys were planning on dressing her up? -_- No wonder." Some more sounds came from the phone. Obviously, Momoko was asking what he meant by that. "Nothing! Anyway, did you end up dressing her up?" Akemi answered quickly and then changed the topic. "Oh you did! I'll make sure to tell Yoshi that. He'll be happy to know! Speaking of Yoshi, can you hold on for a minute? I have to tell him to hurry up. That guy takes forever to get ready!" Then he put the phone down for a while.

"Yoshi! Hurry up! We don't have forever here!" Akemi yelled.

"Alright! I'm coming!" Yoshi could be heard yelling from his room.

More sounds were coming from the phone in Akemi's hand.

"No! Trust me, that is NOT the reason why Yoshi stays upstairs so long! The reason he stays upstairs so long is because he doesn't like to wake up! I mean, I know today's Sunday and all, but who sleeps up till 11:00 IN THE MORING?! What? Kaoru's like that too? Wow. Those two really are alike, it's scary sometimes!" Akemi answered. Then more sounds. "We're alike too? AH! Did I say SCARY? ^^; I meant to say that no wonder Yoshi and Kaoru are such a LOVELY couple! Just like us! Ha ha ha!" Akemi later said. (Though he couldn't believe he had used the word "lovely.")

"Ok I'm here!" Yoshi said, coming into the room.

"Finally! Yoshi's here! Momoko, we're on our way!" Akemi said later turning to look at Yoshi. Then he froze.

Yoshi was wearing a pair of black and green checkered pattern shorts. He was wearing an ugly Hawaii shirt. And he (again, for some unknown reason) had on black sandals with no socks. He was also wearing a pair of weird looking glasses. (Those that have the eyes popping out of them).

Riku was also frozen! But he was able to talk. "What do we do now Akemi?" He was asking in a whisper that was loud enough for Akemi to hear, but quite enough for Momoko and Yoshi to not hear.

"What do you think you're supposed to do? Knock him out already!" Akemi said, in the same whisper.

"Why don't you do it!" Riku was begging and whispering back. He really didn't want to take Yoshi on. Especially since he was the toughest Rowdyruff.

"I can't! I'm on the phone!" Akemi whispered back. "Just do it!"

"Uh, is something wrong?" Yoshi was asking, who was bothered by their whispers. Momoko was probably asking the same thing too, since there were also sounds coming from the phone.

"What? Oh! No! Nothing's wrong!" Akemi answered. He then gave Riku a look that said "Just do it already!"

Riku looked back at Akemi and said in a whisper, "YOU OWE ME BIG!"

Akemi rolled his eyes but nodded his head.

Riku than got ready and jumped on Yoshi.

"WAIT! WHAT?!" Yoshi was heard yelling in surprise.

Momoko, obviously hearing the noises was again asking what was wrong.

"Ah! Don't worry. Like I said, nothing's wrong at all." Akemi answered in a calm cheery tone. "By the way, about what I said, uh, it seems we have to take care of something right now. But we'll be there at the amusement park, no problem! Though to tell you the truth, we might be late by at least 5 minutes!" Then there were again sounds from the phone. "No! Nothing's happened! At least, nothing serious. Like I said, we'll be there! Anyway, bye!" Akemi then hung up before Momoko could say anything else.

Then Akemi too, jumped on Yoshi to help Riku who was struggling to knock him out.

…_End of Another Flashback!_

* * *

"-_- Was pouncing on me really necessary?" Yoshi asked, obviously still bothered.

"Sorry, but Akemi told me to." Riku answered, in a regretting tone. (Well, of course he would! Try pouncing on the toughest Rowdyruff! That's nearly suicidal!)

"Besides, you were looking like an idiot!" Akemi said, not regretting nearly anything at all.

"So I went a little over board with the amusement park thing, but I didn't look that bad." Yoshi answered.

"Yeah Akemi, he didn't look that bad." agreed Riku.

"Thank you Riku!" Yoshi said happily.

"At least not as bad as he did when he went on that one date to the movies!" Riku said grinning.

Yoshi hit him.

"OW! Yoshi! What was that for!?" Riku yelled, rubbing his head.

"For being a bad brother!" Yoshi answered.

"You don't mean that." Riku whined, tearing up.

"Don't play with me Riku." Yoshi said coldly.

"I remember that one!" Akemi said, breaking the chilling gloom that was looming over his brothers. "And you're right! Yoshi did look worse!"

* * *

_Yet Another Flashback…_

Akemi and Riku were in the Kitchen.

"Yoshi's so lucky!" said Akemi. "He's going to watch that new movie that came out."

"Miyako and I both agreed that we didn't want to see that movie until later, since it's a horror movie that involves cannibals in a train tunnel along with a lot of blood, guts, and violence. You know the way Miyako is with that, and personally, I can't blame her." said Riku. "But I'm a bit surprised. Why aren't you going Akemi?"

Akemi sighed and answered, "Yoshi FORCED me not to go."

"You could have gone anyway." Riku said back.

"You think I didn't try!?" Akemi said a bit annoyed. "Have you ever tried going against Yoshi? We have way better luck convincing the teachers with our excuses for why we always have to skip class! At least the teacher doesn't threaten us with anything!"

"What did he threaten you with anyway?" Riku asked, out of curiosity.

"I'd rather not answer that." answered Akemi, with embarrassment at the fact. "But I can tell you that it won't work next time!"

"I wonder why he doesn't want you to come anyway." wondered Riku.

"How am I supposed to know? He just said something about how ever since the triple date at the amusement park, he and Kaoru have agreed to go on future dates ALONE. I mean honestly! You never see me acting like that with Momoko! I don't need alone time to show my love! And if I do, there are places that are way better to pick than the movie theater! I mean, what is that guy thinking!? The movie theater isn't even anywhere near a place to have alone time! The theater is full of freakin' people! If you want alone time, get a room and watch your movie there! That's what'd I do!" Akemi complained.

Riku just nodded his head at Akemi's long complaint. He figured it was best to just let Akemi complain as much as he wanted.

"Ok! I'm ready to go!" Yoshi said, coming into the room to get a glass of water before going.

"Just hurry up and go already!" Akemi said turning around. "You don't want to be…"

"Oh no! Not again!" complained Riku.

Yoshi was wearing green, white, and yellow plaid pattern pants. He was wearing a short sleeve green shirt that was un-buttoned and had an upper pocket on the left side. Under that shirt, he was wearing a tie-dyed shirt in which its sleeves reached up to his elbows. He had on black shoes and he also (for some unknown reason) had on a monster mask.

"Ah! I needed that!" said Yoshi, in relief after he finished drinking his glass of water. Then he looked at the clock. "Uh-oh, I have to go! Can't be late! Kaoru won't like that much." Then he was beginning to head out of the kitchen.

"Riku…" Akemi began. "POUNCE!"

And right on target, Riku pounced on Yoshi.

…_End Of Yet Another Flashback!_

* * *

"You could have just told me that I didn't look right!" Yoshi was now saying. He was now really trying to hold back to urge to punch each of his brothers in the guts!

"Would you have even listened to us if we had just told you?" Akemi asked.

"Well…uh…" Yoshi was having a hard time answering. He already knew what the truth was.

"I'm sure you wouldn't have listened to us." Riku said, answering for him.

"OK! I GET IT ALREADY! I have a little problem with dressing when I'm nervous!" Yoshi said.

"A little?" Akemi asked, again raising his eyebrow.

"OK! A lot of problem with dressing! There! I admitted it! HAPPY!?" Yoshi was now yelling and was really wanting to punch both Akemi and Riku.

"Besides, we had to help you." Riku said.

"Yeah, Yoshi. Usually we would have just let you go the way you were no matter what it was, but you being our brother, that was more embarrassing to watch than funny." Akemi said. "Not only that. It would have also ruined my reputation as well as Riku's and yours!"

"Anyway, I'm already choosing what you'll wear." Riku said, assuredly. "Don't worry, like always, it will fit your style."

"Now hold on a minute!" Yoshi yelled. "I just admitted that I had a dressing problem! I never said that it was ok for Riku to treat me like a kid and pick my clothes for me!"

"Well Yoshi, you need it!" Akemi was saying back in a loud voice. "Maybe you can learn something from him about cloths!"

"You actually expect ME to LEARN something from RIKU!?" Yoshi was now asking in disbelief.

"HEY! What wrong with learning something from me?!" Riku was also yelling.

"I can't believe I'm saying it either Yoshi, but YES! I am hoping that you will at least learn something! Though the way you are, I would be surprised if you even did!" Akemi was now also yelling, getting impatient.

"I said I won't put on what Riku picks and I mean it! I WON'T!" Yoshi was yelling even louder.

Akemi stood silent for a while. Riku was starting to take a few steps back. He knew Akemi was starting to get annoyed.

"Fine. Fine! FINE! Be a child and go the way you want!" Akemi was now yelling angrily. "Who cares whether or not you look like a clown or an idiot, or an alien or whatever! Go the way you want! Make a fool out of yourself! Get your pride laughed at! Get dumped by Kaoru! And if you are, then I'm sure there are lots of other guys whom Kaoru can take interest in and who have common sense! Maybe she will be wooed again by her ex-boyfriend, YOU HEAR ME!?"

He had hit the mark.

Yoshi HATED getting his pride laughed at. He cared about his pride almost as much as he cared about Kaoru. And getting dumped by Kaoru would be way worse than getting his pride laughed at. Not only that, seeing how hard he had to fight other guys like the muscular senpai that Kaoru used to like, to see her later being with one of them would be even way worse than getting his pride laughed at or getting dumped by Kaoru or having those two things put together. And having all three of those things happen, it would drive Yoshi bonkers!

Yoshi now had a blank look on his face. He was looking at his brother. Curse the Akemi for having a way with words. Suddenly Yoshi scolded at him. Akemi did not budge. He knew what this meant from past experiences of arguments he had had with Yoshi in which Akemi would win. Yoshi just scolded at him for a while and walked off ahead of his brothers.

"Glad that's over." Akemi said quietly to Riku.

"Yeah." Riku agreed.

"AND RIKU! If you pick something that makes me look like a momma's boy, you're dead meat!" Yoshi was yelling about half a block ahead of them.

Riku flinched a little. "Did you have to make him that angry?"

"Don't worry. You know Yoshi. He always gets mad whenever he loses a fight!" Akemi said.

"Right." Riku said calming down a little. "Anyway, I wanted Pizza today."

"Great idea!" Akemi said. "Why don't you order some?"

"You're paying." Riku said grinning.

"WHAT!?" Akemi said. "Why should I!?"

"Because you owe me. I told you that time didn't I? By the way, thanks for reminding me." Riku said calmly smiling. "Anyway, I want a pepperoni with mushrooms, olives, and extra cheese. Thanks!"

"There is no way I'm paying for that!" Akemi was arguing.

"Yes you are. You know what the Professor will do if he finds out that you're not keeping your promises." Riku said calmly.

Now it was Akemi's turn to gulp. With that, Riku made his own evil grin and walked off.

Akemi stood there a while. Then he finally yelled "CURSE YOU RIKU!

* * *

**Hmm. :p Yummy! Pepperoni with mushrooms and Olives Pizza! My favorite! Anyway u_u again, sorry if this chapter wasn't so good. I was trying to make a gag chapter here. Guess it probably didn't work so well. But I tell you the next chapter should start to get interesting. Anyway, I have to work now on my "Cursed Child" Chapter and with all the work I have to do for school. I don't know much about when my next updating will be. TToTT I haven't even been able to talk to marinav92!**

**n.n Anyway, please review.**

**Me: *Reading homework list* Let's see here, I have to write an essay on Twelve Angry Men for Pre-AP-English Class that is due this Friday. I have to work on a worksheet for that class that is also due on Friday. I also have to prepare for the re-play trial of Twelve Angry Men where I'm the store keeper. And then I have to also find some French recipes for my French 2 Class, then I have a few worksheets I have to do for Earth Science. A few things that I have to print for CIS. And I'm sure I have another study guide that I need to finish for AP Human Geography. Now let's see here, all together that about… TOO MUCH WORK! MY HEAD HURTS! GREAT NOT ONLY DO I HAVE A TEACHER WHOSE NAME IS MS. PAYNE (Yeah! You read it right! It's pronounced "pain"!) FOR ENGLISH CLASS, BUT ALL OF THE OTHER TEACHERS AREN'T GOING EASY ON ME EITHER! TToTT Not to mention that my parents expect me to be in bed by 8:30pm! At this rate, I won't barely have anytime to myself!**

**TToTT ME WANT SUMMER VACATION TO COME SOON! **

**Peace and Out.**


	4. Butch's Dating Tips!

**xD HI EVERYBODY! And yes, I'M ALIVE. Finally, I've had an updating since the year of 2009. Hard to believe that at the time that I last updated I was a starting sophomore (10**

**th grader). Now look at me! I'm a Junior (11th grader) who is 16 and a half years old and is planning on trying to get my driver's permit (once again trying) in order to be able to drive and get a part-time job somewhere. Oh wait, that's right. ^^; You can't see me. Oh, well, you get the idea. Anyway, as an apology for my late updating, I've made this a REALLY FREAKISHLY EXTRA LONG chapter. People, NOT COUNTING the author's notes, it's a little more than 15 PAGES in total! So please enjoy and if I'm forgiven for my lateness, please review!**

**WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS ON THE MOVIE "300"!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PPGz or 300.**

* * *

Sunday…The day of Yoshi's date with Kaoru.

Yoshi's POV:

"Curse you Riku." I mumbled to myself as I left the Professor's lab. Riku just had to choose what he liked to call "formal wear". The dark blue non-baggy jeans were ok. The black converses along with the one-sided strapped black backpack were great. The dark green and white striped T-Shirt was good enough. The fact that Riku had banned me from wearing my piercings, well I can deal. The damn dark gray vest that I was wearing was NOT okay. I mean A VEST! Of all things! On girls, yeah, that looks cute, but me, Yoshi, who is the most active guy in school, who is actually Butch, who is the strongest Rowdyruff Boy out of the three, who could hit a wall to the ground and punch a person all the way to next week if not beyond, yet here I was wearing a VEST as though I was some sort of nerd or a weak boy who you would expect would cry with just a light shove. I don't really know what's worse, this stupid VEST, or that TIE Riku also wanted me to wear. Luckily, he gave me an option about the tie, but he did not give me a choice when it came to the vest. Vests and Ties are more of Riku's thing. I mean, just look at him. Baby face, gentleman-like, fashionable, not to mention easy to tease, he's the one who goes perfectly with the image he tried to get me in. But me, not happening! As Kaoru's favorite quote goes, it's 500 years, way too early for that!

Anyway, I was quickly running towards the meeting place, not because I was going to be late as I still had about 15 minutes, but because Kaoru had a tendency to arrive really early. Remembering our first date when she had arrived about 30 minutes before the scheduled time, I did not want to keep her waiting for too long.

I then turned a block and there she was, 1 block away, across the street, waiting. From where I was, I had a good minute or two to admire her. She was wearing a simple white flowing dress that reached a little above her knees, an un-buttoned long-sleeved green demin jacket over that, her star-shaped locket necklace, non-heel white dress shoes, a yellow headband, and a little green backpack. Upon closer inspection, I also saw that she had a little make-up on. Overall, she looked really really cute to the point that I felt like I just wanted to grab her between my arms and cuddle her to no end. It was then that I noticed that Momoko and Miyako might have told her to wear that outfit, since she had a tint of blush on her cheeks as though she was a bit uncomfortable. I must admit, even though she's my girlfriend, I sided with Momoko and Miyako as I silently thanked them for convincing Kaoru to wear that outfit. As I came nearer, she spotted me, and I saw her face grow even redder. I then also silently thanked Riku for picking out my clothes for me and seeing as how grateful I was, I decided not to steal his desert during dinner.

I then looked both ways to make sure that no cars were coming, crossed the street, and went straight to Kaoru.

"Yo" I said with a smile and a wave.

"Hey" Kaoru answered back.

"Ready to go?"

"Sure, unless you want to wait a while longer until it's 11 O'Clock."

_Should we really?_ I thought to myself, though 10 minutes wasn't really a long waiting time. There was a moment of silence between us.

"Nah, let's go!" Kaoru laughed and I knew that she didn't want to wait as much as I did. She then grabbed my arm and we headed to the movie theater.

* * *

Yoshi's POV:

**Dating Lesson and Tip #1:** Now the first thing that a guy must remember when taking his girlfriend to a theater is that the girl is the boss. Let your date pick out the movie that she wants to watch and don't argue. Seriously, the girl always wins anyways and you'll have way less to lose if you just go along with what she likes. An average girl would prefer something romantic with some mushy and cute scenes or at least something that doesn't have any horror and can get the mood going.

Kaoru is not an average girl.

First thing we did when we got there was not to spend 30 minutes deciding on what to watch. I knew Kaoru was really interested in that 300 movie so there was no discussion. The talk for what to watch was settled two days ago when I asked her out. Trust me, I know what she likes and that's why I suggested it to her. I knew she's was not the type of person to go screaming at blood and gore, on the other hand, she'd cheer for it. And she's not the type who would go for wimps. I am defiantly not a wimp, unlike that senpai she had dated who had gone all cry-baby like just from seeing some dark-possessed panda-mask wrestler. Wondering how I found out? Her friends told my brothers who told me. What can I say, word spreads. Seriously, what did she see in that dude anyway? On second thought, I don't really want to know.

Anyway, we just raced to the ticket cashier, requested two tickets for the movie 300 as well as the time for when the movie would start, and guess what? We were in luck. The next show was going to start in 20 minutes and since we were there so early compared to other people who preferred the night life, the theater was basically pretty empty except for a few people. We had more than enough time to get our buttered popcorn, soda, and cookie-dough, then we picked out the best seats (which was somewhere up-high and in the back) so that we could see full screen, and sat down.

Since the movie hadn't started yet, Kaoru and I talked for a bit between small bites of popcorn.

"I can't wait to see it!" Kaoru yelled happily. And I mean literally yelled because we were the only ones there. Seriously, who goes to a movie theater at 11:00 am on a Sunday? Not many people. Most at this time would still be in bed.

"Me either! I've been waiting all week for this!" I agreed.

"I've always wanted to see 300. The Spartans killing Persians, it's gonna be so cool!"

"I've also wanted to see it for a long time. I hear it's pretty good and that it's actually high rated." Don't you find it incredible how alike we are?

"In that case, that makes it even better!" Kaoru cheered.

"Yup, and that I'm here watching it with you makes it even better still." I said, absent-mindedly.

Kaoru then blushed madly.

I took a moment to realize what I had just said and then blushed madly as well and looked away at another direction.

We didn't really talk much after that.

You see, saying a smooth comment to your girlfriend also wasn't my thing. That was more of something that Akemi would do with Momoko. I swear, of all the baka couples that exist out there, those two could take the top prize. Ever since Momoko, Miyako, Kaoru, my brothers, and I went on that group date to the tropical land amusement park, Kaoru and I swore to each other that we would never go on another group date with Akemi and Momoko ever again for as long as we lived. Have you ever read the manga "Get Love"? You'll find it on MangaReader. I advise you to read it. That is the picture perfect demonstration of what Momoko and Akemi are like. Well, actually, no. Akemi tends to say smooth comments a lot easier than the main guy and he says "I love you" to Momoko more than once every day as though both of them are some completely love struck maniacs. But everything else is pretty much the same. I swear I've even seen hearts sticking out of those two! I'm also certain that those hearts were what w+ere making Kaoru and I feel like we were being stabbed at with their pointy bottoms as though they were some sort of dangerous weapon. Yes, the love of those two went as far as to being dangerous for our own personal health. And in case you're wondering why I would know so much about such a mushy manga, trust me, it was a dare! I was dared by my annoying brothers to read the mushiest manga on Planet Earth. My eye was even twitching for a week after that. Luckily it was my covered eye, so no one noticed.

Anyway, then there's Riku. Riku can make a gentleman sort of compliment. He and Miyako are the kind of cute couple that you would see holding hands, skipping in the streets (literally skipping), having gentle kisses under the mistletoe, going to Karaoke, buying cute little trinkets for each other, and having picnics at a park. Miyako and Riku are not as lovey dovey as Akemi and Momoko, but they're love is still cute to the point that it actually can make someone a bit sick. For Kami's sake, why can't my brothers ever get themselves a room?

Finally, there's me. I'm not completely hopeless. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually pretty bold. I'm the one who can actually make advances towards Kaoru and we've actually gone near to making out once if it hadn't been for the fact that we were interrupted by Akemi. By the way, I never got to hear the end of it until a month passed. However, when it comes to speaking, well, there's a reason why I was always the least talkative out of my brothers. But hey, Kaoru doesn't talk much either. How we communicate? I don't know. I guess we can just sense each other's feelings. Like how we seemed completely satisfied with what we were wearing even though we didn't say anything to each other. We just know that to each other, we looked good and it would have been easy to feel if we had thought the opposite. Then of course there are the hugs and kisses that are given without problem as long as they are done right. So the actions are probably what do all the talking for us. A bit weird, but that's just the way it is.

So after my last comment, Kaoru and I just spent the last 5 minutes before the movie started munching on some more popcorn, drinking soda, and starting on the cookie dough. It's not that Kaoru was mad at me; I knew she was actually pretty happy with what I had said to the point that inside her mind, she could be having a "Kaoru eyewash" along with a rocket trip to the heavens if she could. She was just embarrassed and well, the situation had gotten a bit awkward, and yes, our relationship is pretty healthy.

Anyways after about 5 minutes of silence, the movie finally started. All feelings of awkwardness quickly went away with the violent scenes that were being shown. Kaoru and I oh-ed and ah-ed at the beginning when it showed how a Spartan boy would grow up (made high school seem easier yet at the same time, somewhat boring). Our popcorn chewing practically slowed down with the part where the messenger came in with a bunch of human skulls tied together, asking for land and water, in which the Spartans then threw the messengers into the hole of death. We choked a little at the mushy scene, in which the awkwardness that had been going on between us once again returned, but that only lasted for a while until it ended. Kaoru and I then laughed at the part where the Spartan king made a half-baked attempt at lying about battling the Persians by saying that he was only going on a walk and that the 300 soldiers behind him were only his bodyguards. I admit, the Powerpuff girls and the Rowdyruff boys have made up some pretty wild excuses for leaving in order to go fight crime while keeping our identities a secret (some I'm surprised even worked), but that one shown in the movie seriously beat all. Kaoru and I were just about cheering when it finally got to the good part with the battles and I had to stop Kaoru from throwing her soda at the screen when we came to the part with the jerk messing around with the Spartan king's wife. I'll confess, I felt something when the son of one of the soldier's was killed, though at the same time, I was telling myself that part of it was their own fault for having a father-son moment at the completely wrong place and time. I was then beginning to feel a bit of regret at my choices in films and wondering about whether or not I should have taken Boomer's advice to instead watch "The Puppy and the 100 Promises" when I once again found myself grabbing Kaoru's wrists in an effort to stop her from throwing something at the jerk in the film. Though I couldn't blame her since if I found someone messing with my girlfriend, I would have wanted to pretty much kill him as well. I was finally able to relax my grip when the Spartan king's wife showed the jerk who is boss and Kaoru was cheering things like "go for it" and "take that" while the queen stabbed the guy and told him off. We coughed at the part where the hunch-backed dude turned traitor and later laughed at his uniform since the helmet could barely fit his big head. We were awed at the quote said about Spartans not surrendering or retreating, but fighting till the death and in the end, despite the fact that 299 died (one injured left early), the ending was simply awesome.

* * *

"That was great." Kaoru was sighing and smiling as we left the theater.

"It really was." I agreed, nodding.

We looked out into the streets and took the time to admire the wonderful day outside. The skies were clear, it wasn't too cold, it wasn't too hot, it wasn't too bright, it wasn't too dull-looking, and the weather forecast said that there would be no rain or anything else. Just absolutely perfect.

"So what do we do now?" Kaoru asked.

I turned to check the time on my watch. It was well at 2:05 pm, a good time to go get something to eat. A growl from Kaoru's stomached (along with a cute blush) confirmed half the answer. The other half came when my own stomach growled right after.

"Want to go get something to eat?"

"Sure" she answered.

We then made our way to that restaurant that I had told her about. The place was called the "D&D", which stood for "Dine and Delight". It was actually a buffet area that according to rumors at school had really good food at a price that was agreeable to even teenagers.

**Dating Lesson and Tip #2:** When taking your girlfriend out to lunch or dinner, you should also show her that you're not a pig. Don't let your eating habits get the best of you. Always eat modestly to try to accommodate your girl's delicate taste. Note how she picks up a little bit of food at a time and eats it slowly, bite by bite, and then try to keep up with her pace. The last thing you would want is to leave her feeling a bit sick from seeing you chow down by the plate full.

Kaoru doesn't give a damn.

We went to the buffet place and of course, I was paying. Not that I minded since I had a part time job in a sports store, in other words, I had a part time job in heaven and therefore I was well prepared. All I had to pay was 20 dollars. A good price if you ask me. After we got set at our table for two, we got a plate, went straight to the food court, ignored all the soups and salads, and started filling our plates with whatever we could fit. We got pizza, burgers (Japanese style), sushi, eggs (Japanese style), eel, fish, chicken, pork, noodles, and any other delicious item that we could find. Finally, we took our stuff to the table and started eating. Every bite was delicious. You'd think that after eating popcorn and chocolate raisins that we wouldn't be too hungry. On the contraire, it opened our appetites even more! Soon as we were both finished with the first course, we then got another plate and went straight for the desert section. We got pudding, cream puff, ice cream sodas (which I found Kaoru really liked), short cakes, fruit tarts, mocha, and brownies, and anything else that was sweet and good. Then we once again took all that to the table and savored every delectable bite. It was at the point where I was finishing my last brownie and Kaoru was finishing her ice cream soda (with much delight) that our seemingly peaceful day got interrupted.

"Hey everyone, we're hungry!"

Oh no. Kaoru and I knew that voice anywhere and I was silently praying to Kami-sama that we were wrong. Sadly, Kami-sama was probably busy with some other matters at the moment than to bother with one suddendly-unfortunante guy because my sort-of-desperate prayers were never answered. We turned around only to see Ace and his Gang Green Gang tying up the boss of the restaurant and then going to the buffet area to pile sky high their plates. Kaoru and I made eye contact with each other.

_Time to transform!_

Unluckily for us, we were careless enough to have gotten seats that were the closest to the food court. Ace just passed by us and the first thing he notices is…

_Whistles _"WOW! Hey babe! Whatcha doing over here?"

Ace had literally dropped all his food as he turned his attention to Kaoru and started to flirt with her, completely ignoring me.

THAT DOES IT! I felt several veins pop in my head. How dare that dude mess with MY girlfriend during the day that was supposed to be a PERFECT DATE! Since I am actually Butch, this meant that I would no doubt knock him hard to the other side of Tokyo. This guy had defiantly chosen the wrong guy to mess with by flirting with the wrong girlfriend at the wrong place and at the really wrong time. Now I am normally a calm fellow, but when I get seriously past-the-limit mad, I tend to get into a blood lust. It's something that only I have and my brothers don't. Most of the reason for that being due to the fact that I tend to keep most of my emotions locked inside through a facacde of quietness that is just waiting to burst out. Luckily, I only get like that when something REALLY bad happens. Like that time when I found out that a couple of punks at school were bullying Riku and making his life like hell just for the fact that he was going out with Miyako. And that time, if it hadn't been for my brothers, I would have very well given those guys serious injuries (if not killed them) and would have gotten suspended (if not sent to jail). But hey, Riku never got bullied again, which is good because only Akemi and I are allowed to make fun of him. It's a brother thing. Then there was that other time when Mojo Jojo nearly killed Akemi with another one of his lame taking-over-the-world plots. I only stopped beating him senseless when Kaoru managed through some miracle to calm me down, told me that Akemi was not dead yet, and then ordered me to help take him somewhere private so that he could transform back to normal and then take him to the nearest hospital. And since she told me that I had to do it at that specific moment if I really wanted him to be alright, I had to let the stupid monkey continue to live his miserable life. Anyways, I wasn't to that exact point right now, but I was starting to get closer and closer to the line that I try so desperatly to not cross. I was ready to just punch Ace there and then even without my powers.

Kaoru must have sensed my starting blood-lust and saw that I was still a sane enough because right as I was tightening my fist and preparing for the blow, she gave me a quick eye contact. The Gang Green Gang didn't notice because to them, it was so quick that they probably didn't even bother. I, however, caught the message and gritted my teeth for what I was about to do.

Kaoru's message was simple…

_Get out and transform quickly. I'll keep them distracted._

I can't describe how much less of a man I felt just thinking about it, but right then wasn't the time for that sort of argument (and she was right) so I did as she said. Ace was so busy flirting with Kaoru and his Gang was so busy looking at him and eating that they didn't even notice me leaving. I quickly ran outside to the back of the restaurant and transformed into Butch.

I didn't waste any time as I ran back to the restaurant, great timing too because Ace was trying to plant a kiss on Kaoru. My temper just went from bad to worse. I grabbed a tighter hold of my bat and gave Ace a good hit to the back of the head. While Ace was busy rubbing his sore spot and while the rest of the Gang was looking at him and trying to comfort him, I signaled Kaoru to quickly take the chance to run outside and transform so that she could help me get rid of these morons. While Kaoru was gone I gave Ace a death glare that if one were to have been seeing it, they would have sworn that there was some sort of shinigami behind me that was laughing wickedly. The Gang Green Gang must have sensed something because after taking one look at me, they gulped and sweat dropped a bit. Ace still had the guts to try to get his act together and get tough.

"Well, well, if it isn't the feminine looking Butch." He taunted.

Like I said, I don't like to talk much, especially not to my enemies and more so when I am pissed off. As much as I hated the fact that it was true that I had some feminine features about my face (fair-smooth skin, silky hair, and just plain girly-like) I just stared and said nothing. Besides, I wasn't completely feminine-looking. Due to training with the Matsubara family, I had a good enough set of developing-muscles which he was about to feel.

"You know, I don't think that I like that silent attitude of yours" Ace said. Apparently, my silence by itself was making more than enough torment on him.

I still said nothing. You know, I don't really think that there ever was a time in my life where I actually ever said something to Ace. I mean, it's not like I have to. Normally it's Blossom and Brick who do all the talking. Not that I mind.

"Can't you even talk? I know you can!" Ace yelled, trying to get me stirred up. Apparently, my silence was only making him look even more so like a bigger idiot then he already was. Since he saw that he was getting no where…

"Tch, fine, be that way!" He gave up and prepared to give an order. "Gang Green Gang, attack!"

I was wielding my bat, so I was able to knock out the midget, the snake, the idiot, and the fatso. I was so busy hitting the fatso though that I didn't realize that Ace had crept up behind me and was about to hit me good until...BAM!

"Going to hit a guy from behind his back, how low can you get! And you call yourself a man? Pitiful!"

I heard that voice and turned around, happy to see that it was Buttercup's voice and that the sound had been Buttercup's hammer as it hit Ace in the face. Apparently, due to Ace's flirting, she was also in a bad mood. I then decided to ignore my own blood lust and just allow her to hit Ace to her heart's content. I was about to tell Buttercup this, but it looked like I didn't have to because as soon as I had made up my mind, she was already on him, hitting him away with her hammer. Since I had nothing to do myself, I just looked towards the rest of the gang who were beginning to stand up again and decided to entertain myself a little, while I waited for the puff to finish her business with the much hated leader.

A few minutes later…

The whole Gang Green Gang was moaning as Buttercup and I tied them up. We had already un-tied the boss at the buffet and right at the moment, we were taking the Gang Green Gang to the other side of Tokyo with the hopes that they wouldn't bother us. Buttercup because she was still disgusted at Ace's flirting and me because I wanted some alone time for once in my life!

We set them down in an alley way and left them there (still tied) so that they could have an entertaining walk back home. Besides, the weather was supposed to be nice. They'd live. Just as we were about to leave, Ace began to stir. I swear that guy is so stubborn. He should have just played dead because he takes one look at me then one look at Kaoru and begins to say something.

"You look fa…"

I don't know what sort of stupidity he was about to say, but whatever it was, he didn't get to finish. As soon as he opened his mouth, Buttercup hit him with her hammer again and hard so that he wouldn't be waking up for a while.

After that, we just gave a slight nod to each other and flew off back to where we had been.

* * *

Buttercup and I had stopped at an empty alley way and transformed back to normal there, then we walked out like nothing had happened.

While we were walking, I was contemplating on what we were going to do next. Thankfully we had finished eating when the Gang Green Gang had arrived because obviously, we couldn't go back to the D&D. I then looked at a couple of stores ahead and saw an arcade place. Perfect.

"You want to go to an arcade?" I asked Kaoru, breaking the silence.

"Sure." Kaoru answered.

**Dating Lesson and Tip #3: **When you take your girlfriend to play games, let her win most of the time. A girl likes to feel like a winner. She doesn't like to feel like a loser and will actually get mad and come to hate you or see you as a rival if you don't let her win. So just give her what she wants.

Kaoru likes a challenge.

We crossed a few streets and entered the Arcade. I always did like Arcades. Just for a couple of coins, you can play any game you want and even win prizes on some others. There was another main reason for why I liked Arcades a lot, but that was something that I mostly kept to myself.

Kaoru and I had our few preferred games that we liked, most of them had to do with the fact that we could play together or against each other. My favorite was one where we had to work together to dodge meteoroids in space. We both took turns with shooting and steering. Kaoru's favorite was the one where we had to go against each other in a wrestling match. Sometimes I would win and sometimes Kaoru would win, but we'd never let the other win on purpose. There's not really much fun in that and it's not like we're Miyako and Riku. Those guys are ridiculous! I remember one time when the Professor took us (PPGz and RRBz) on a trip to the hot springs. After our hot baths, we decided to play ping-pong. While Kaoru and I were playing like our lives depended on it, Miyako and Riku were just hitting it back and forth without even trying and saying things like "Here you go honey", "Here it comes sugar", "I'm hitting it to you darling", and "Right back at you sweet heart". I swear that game would have never ended if it continued like that!

Anyway, after playing a couple of games, we then noticed that there was a group of people staring at a two guys who were playing a shooting game. Apparently they got a high score because the crowd was cheering them on. A quick glance at the score board told us that they got 80,000 points. I looked at Kaoru and she was smiling evilly. I smirked back as well. We didn't need to say anything because we knew what the other was thinking. We were going to show them what a real high score looks like!

Kaoru and I made our way to the other side of the game. Apparently where there was another one just like it, only in a different color boarder. This one was green and black with a pair of green guns (coincidence). We put in the coins, took our stands, and played. The game was fairly simple. You had to shoot bad guys and you could continue for as long as you wanted as long as you or you partner didn't get shot and die as well. Our game did not go unnoticed. By the time that we were at 70,000 points, we already had a big crowd on us, and the other two guys were included watching to see if we would beat their high score. The crowd was not disappointed. We finished with a score of 110,000 points, a new record.

The crowd went wild. Kaoru went wild as well. She was so happy and cheering things like "Yeah, that's the way!" and "Yoshi, Yoshi, we did it!" that she then grabbed me and was hugging me like crazy.

I blushed, hugged her back, and instantly felt like I was in Kaoru Paradise.

This is the main reason why I like arcades. Whenever we get way into a game and win, Kaoru tends to get happy to the point that in her self-celebration she forgets all shyness and hugs me without a problem. At one point, she even kissed me on the cheek only to blush madly after she had taken the time to realize what she had just done, not that I minded.

After the crowd had left, there were only two people remaining and those were the guys who we had just beaten. They looked like twins and probably were because they both had chestnut-brown colored hair, gray colored eyes, and looked the same too. The only difference was the one had short hair that was messy and spiked at different ends while the other had long hair that reached his mid-back and was neatly combed straight into a pony tail like the one that Neji (from Naruto) has. They were seemingly about 1 year or so older, probably high school second-years. They approached us. No, they didn't have angry faces; actually they had faces that were somewhat pleased.

"Nice game" the one with short hair said.

Kaoru looked at them and then realized that she had her arms around my neck. The posture was a bit awkward so she quickly removed her arms and blushed a little.

"Thanks." I answered.

"It's been a while since we've had good competition." The other said nodding. "This is Junou and I am Konou. You won't mind if we play again sometime right?"

"Sure, you can count on it!" Kaoru agreed, regaining her tomboy attitude.

The guys took a good look at Kaoru which made me feel mad for some reason. Then Junou spoke.

"Actually, I'm more surprised with you. I've never seen a girl play a game that well before."

"And cute too." Konou agreed.

It seems like I was probably menacing because they turned to look at me and got nervous right after.

"Hey dude, calm down! We already have our own girlfriends so chill." Konou assured me.

"Yeah, actually, we have a picture of them with us." Junou said. He then reached into his pocket and took out a group picture. The picture had the twins in it, but it also had two other girls who were smiling in the middle of the two guys. The one who was next to Junou had short and wavy blond hair that reached her shoulders and green eyes. The other one that was next to Konou had long black hair that reached her waist and had brown eyes.

My menacing aura left after I looked at the picture.

"Aren't they cute?" Junou asked.

"Yes, actually, they are best friends." Konou said.

"I met Lena first, though and we got together." Junou continued. Lena was the girl with blond hair. "Then we introduced Nari to Konou." Nari was the girl with black hair.

"And we are still hooked!" Junou exclaimed smiling. "Ah, the perfect example of what true love looks like."

My attitude towards them completely changed. Actually they seemed like nice people.

"My name is Yoshi" I said. "and this is…my girlfriend". I said blushing while looking away. Man that took a whole of energy to say!

"I'm Kaoru" Kaoru told them, smiling yet blushing at my statement.

"Pleasure to meet you." Junou and Konou answered.

"So you guys are on a date?" Konou asked.

We both nodded.

"Actually, we're planning to meet up with our girlfriends so that we can go on a double date too." Junou said. "We're going to go Karaoke."

Soon as he said that we heard two female voices calling. "Junou, Konou, we're here!"

We turned to look behind them and saw the two girls that were shown in the picture. They were waving and smiling at the two guys.

"Well, what do you know? There they are now." Konou exclaimed.

"Yup, speak of the devil." Junou agreed. "Well, we'd like to continue and talk, but we have to go."

"By the way, do you guys go to Tokyo Public High by any chance?" Konou asked.

Kaoru and I nodded.

"Oh then we'll see you around." Konou said happily.

"See ya." The twins waved good bye as they left.

Kaoru and I just waited until the twins and their girlfriends were out of sight before we left the arcade as well.

* * *

**Dating Lesson and Tip #4: **When going on a walk with your girlfriend, allow her to go where she wants to go. Girls like to go to malls, cloths stores, and stores that sell relatively cute items like stuff animals and jewelry. Also, don't get surprised if she drags you into a store full of girl stuff or make-up. It's called "Girl Shopping" guys. Just grit your teeth and put up with it the best way you can.

Kaoru hates girl shopping to the core.

You have to admit, boy shopping is a whole lot cooler and I was blessed with a girlfriend who agreed.

We toured C.D. shops and listened to music. Then we saw some sports stores and admired all the cool items that they had. I noticed that Kaoru had her eyes on a green skate board and I immediately decided what to buy her for her birthday which would be in three weeks. While she wasn't looking, I told the clerk to please put the skate board on hold for me.

Afterwards we went to see the electronic stores and the motorcycle shops. It was right at the motorcycle shop that I decided that I would save enough money so that I could one day get a motorcycle license and a new motorcycle along with it.

Finally we went to the game shops. There, Kaoru and I took the time to admire all the Wii games that existed in there. Sadly, Wii games are expensive, but I always manage to convince the Professor to get me a new one now and then as long as I continue to keep up my grades.

As we continued walking, Kaoru and I then noticed one of those grabbing machines and saw that in it was a set of two key chains that had our favorite black and green-eyed cat who does sports and is tough called "Maru Maru" and his tomboy and fighting girlfriend "Marumi". I was especially good at these kinds of games, so I was able to get the set on the second attempt. I got Maru Maru and Kaoru got Marumi.

Afterwards, I bought us some ice cream. We both got vanilla. While we were eating and sitting on a bench, Kaoru pointed to a photo booth machine that was located across the street. Good for us. I was wondering when we were going to see a photo booth around the area. On every date we go, we normally go to a photo booth at the end of the day in order to put it in our scrapbooks and have a memory of the day. We've done it ever since our first date when we first attempted to see what it was like and we've had that habit ever since. We each got a copy of the photo.

Then we finished eating our ice cream. By this time of the day, Kaoru and I had noticed that it was getting a bit late. According to my watch, it was already 6:30 in the afternoon, so we decided to head home for the day.

* * *

**Dating Lesson and Tip #5: **When walking your girlfriend home, try to make it was enjoyable as possible. Talk, entertain her, or tell jokes. Don't make the walk seem boring and meaningless. Hell, lure a cat or play Shakespeare poems or even do acrobatics if you can. Show her how many flips you can do in a row without getting dizzy or bumping into something (or someone). Just make the last few moments of your dates one of the parts that she will never forget. Show her that you are a fun guy to be with.

Kaoru and I were dead silent.

We didn't talk much as we went to Kaoru's house and I guess that was particularly my fault. While I was walking Kaoru home, I once again remembered our time at the D&D and still felt like shooting myself for having had left her to deal with Ace while I transformed into Butch. Is it that without my powers I am actually nothing? What happened to being a man? Most guys wouldn't care if they got killed as long as their girlfriends were able to make a run for it, but I had to transform into Butch because it was clear that as Yoshi, I wouldn't be able to have beaten them. Was I really that weak?

"Oi, are you ok?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to look at Kaoru who was looking at me with a worried expression on her face.

"I should be asking you the same thing." I answered, half-smiling to myself.

"What do you mean?" Kaoru was obviously confused.

"When we were at the D&D, Ace didn't do anything to you did he?" I asked in a serious tone, looking around and seeing that there was no one around to listen.

"Is that what's bothering you at the moment?" She said. I didn't answer, so she continued. "Well, just to let you know, I'm perfectly fine. You know very well that I would never allow another guy to do those sorts of things to me."

"I'm just mad at myself." I confessed.

"Why?" Kaoru wondered.

"Kaoru, am I really not that strong that I have to transform into Butch in order to protect what is most precious to me?" I asked her.

"Hey, wait! Does this have to do with the fact that I told you to go and transform while I distracted them?" Kaoru demanded to know.

I didn't answer. She took the hint as a 'yes'.

"You shouldn't worry about that kind of stuff! Besides, I was the one who told you to leave."

"But wouldn't most guys take them on even without powers?"

"Yoshi, there is bravery and then there is recklessness. One of the last things I want is for you to get killed. It's 500 years way too early for that!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"You're right, but I still wish I could have done something, you know. Not as Butch, but as Yoshi." I said.

Kaoru was silent for a while and then stopped walking.

"Yoshi, are you going out with me because you want to protect me or because you want to beat the Gang Green Gang?" She asked.

I felt something snap in me with that last statement as I turned around.

"What do you mean me wanting to beat the Gang Green Gang! Obviously I'm going out with you because I love you!" I yelled, blushing at my last remark.

Kaoru looked at me for a while before speaking. "Yoshi, do me a favor. Turn around would you?"

"Eh?" Now it was my turn to be confused.

"Just do it. Please?"

Well, I didn't have much of a chance to argue, so I just did as she said and turned around with my front facing away from her. After about 3 seconds, I felt soft arms hugging me from behind.

"Thanks." Kaoru said as she continued to hug me and I felt her head resting on my back. "Yoshi, I like the fact that you take pride in yourself as a man and that you are not a wimp who would run away and hide while his girlfriend is in trouble and never look back to even think about her while he is saving himself. I also appreciate the sediment, but you don't have to think that you have to be the strongest man in the world in order to be with me. I like you just the way you are. For me, there is no one else who I could love more that Yoshi."

Thankfully no one was around because we continued to be in that position for a while and I could sense that Kaoru was probably beet red at the moment. Finally I felt her lift her head.

"I just remembered." Kaoru said to herself as she separated from her hug. I still didn't turn around as I heard her ruffle in her backpack for a while before stopping. "You can turn around now Yoshi."

It was until that was said that I allowed myself to face Kaoru. In her hands, she was holding a small green package.

"This is for you." She said as she held out the present to me, but unlike other girls, she looked at me when she said it. "I wanted to get you something so…" She then stopped speaking, blushed a little, and took a moment to look at the ground.

I guess that was as far as her own boldness got and as I looked at her, I reached for the package, taking the chance to have our hands touch for a while before finally taking it away from her grasp. I then opened it and saw that it was a pair of green and black motorcycle gloves.

"I know how much you want a motorcycle, so I wanted to give you something that had to do with that. I know it's not much, but I do wish you luck with it." She continued on saying. She didn't need to say more.

"Thank you, Kaoru." I said as I smiled at her. Truly, I was happy.

Kaoru looked at me and smiled back. Most people haven't seen it, but Kaoru actually has a cute smile to her as well, she just doesn't show everyone. Normally the smile that she shows everyone is the tomboy smile that makes her look tough and energetic, but she also has another smile that is more genuine and brings out her gentle nature which she does have. Sure she may be tough, but she's still a really caring person. There are only a few people to whom she's ever given her actual smile that I love so much. Besides me, the other ones are her family members. Not even Momoko, Miyako, Akemi, Riku, the Professor, Ken, Peach, or even anyone at school has seen it. This is a fact that I have come to treasure greatly.

That smile was what normally did it on any occasion. Whenever something bad happened and I felt down or angry or when something good happened and I was enjoying life, I could always count on that smile to make my day seem even better then what it was. As I looked at Kaoru, I felt my body react on it's own as my hand reached for her hair before reaching her cheek and her chin. As I tilted her head a little so that it would face me, my own head moved forward as my mouth reached for her lips.

The kiss was short and not as deep as I would normally do it, but that was enough to get me started. Before I could stop myself, I already had her up against a nearby tall fence and went in for a second one. This one was much longer and deeper. Kaoru's slight moan didn't help much. It only made me want more. As we continued to kiss and as each kiss went deeper and deeper, it took about 10 minutes before we had finally realized what we were doing. However, by the time I did and looked at Kaoru, she was blushing madly and then I suddenly realized what exactly had just happened and how awkward this must have been for her. Thankfully, no one else had been outside to look at this, or things would have gotten even worse. I quickly pushed myself off and suddenly found the sky very interesting. Anything was interesting enough to stare at as long as I didn't have to meet Kaoru's eyes.

"So…uh…let's get going." I said as I quickly started to walk. Before I could make it very far, I felt something grab my hand and saw that it was Kaoru who was looking at me with a face that was still covered with a deep shade of red.

"Um…" Kaoru seemed to be having a hard time looking for the correct words to say which was weird in her case, but then again I couldn't blame her.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me you got tired of walking already." I teased, hoping that this would lighten up the tension in the air.

"I am not!" Kaoru yelled. Glad to see the plan worked. "I just…" Oh great, now that tension was coming back. Might as well continue on with the teasing.

"Hey Kaoru, bet I could run faster than you." I taunted, in a playful way.

"What was that!" Kaoru's "challenge" switch had just turned on.

"Well you know, even for a tomboy, I could still run faster since I'm an actual boy." I do hope I wasn't pulling the strings too far.

"Oh yeah? Well you're on!" Kaoru said, accepting my challenge. Thank goodness I didn't make her too mad like when I first met her.

I smirked and got a tighter hold of her hand.

"Hey! What gives?" Kaoru asked, seemingly confused.

"Isn't it obvious? You have to keep up with me and I won't go easy on you." I answered, grinning as I started to run.

A few minutes later…

As soon as we reached the side of the gates to Kaoru's apartment complex, we stopped running and took a moment to catch our breaths. Kaoru seemed to have been able to keep up with me all the way since her tired state wasn't any different from mine.

"Well, we're here." I said as I looked at the building. I looked at Kaoru and then saw that I didn't want to let go of her hand. We stood there for a minute or two looking at each other. Finally Kaoru spoke.

"Yoshi today was fun." is what she managed to say.

I agreed. "We should do this more often."

Kaoru nodded. Finally, I let go of her hand and as I did…

~Chu~

"Thanks, for everything." she said after she finished giving me a quick peck on the cheek. "Good night Yoshi."

"Bye." I waved as I saw her leave inside the house. "See you tomorrow."

As I walked home, I thought about how lucky I was. I had a wonderful (yet sometimes annoying) family, nice friends, and most of all, I had a great girlfriend whom I had come to treasure greatly.

How was I supposed to know that in a week, she would be taken from me?

* * *

**Well, that's it for this chapter guys. Hope you enjoyed it. I don't know when exactly I'm going to update the next chapter because I once again have to update "Cursed Child". Wish me luck.**

**By the way, please don't take most of these dating tips to heart (especially #3). -_- I don't wish to get sued or flamed and most of them were meant as a sort of stereotypical joke. Though men, it is true that you don't want to appear cheap, pig-like, and boring (as if they didn't know that already).**

**Oh and about that thing that I mentioned with the vest and the tie. Don't get me wrong. I just had to give Yoshi/Butch some sort of cloths negativity. Sort of like how Kaoru hates skirts. 8D Actually, I think the male skinnies are cute. And just imagining Boomer wearing Skinny Jeans, a vest and a collar, and a blue tie gave me a nosebleed. *Faints from the loss of blood***

**Seriously, read "Get Love". It's sooo cute! OoO Ah, but be careful with some of the chapters in the book and about 90% of the others that the same artist wrote, since they tend to have a bit of mature content in them. n.n But who cares? Not me! It's still cute to read! Perfect example of a wonderful lovey dovey relationship that even I wish I could find myself engaged in!**

**Well, hope to be able to update soon. Peace and Out.**

**P.S. And my dear fellow readers, IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK! **


	5. Butch's Shatter!

**n.n Hi everyone! Here I am with chapter 4 of M:SK. Sorry it took so long but I was once again having a small writer's block. Luckily, this one didn't last 2 and a half years. ^^; Ha ha ha. **

**Before you read, a few pointers.**

**1) This whole chapter is from Yoshi's/Butch's POV. **

**2) When something is italicized, then that means that it is Butch's personal inner thoughts. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PPGz!**

* * *

Friday… 5 days after the previous chapter…

* * *

It was a normal every-other-day when she went missing.

As always, it was another Friday morning, another day of the torture we all call "school", and another walk to go pick up Kaoru. You may think that I hated mornings due to my dislike of school, but actually, mornings were my favorite time of the day. As long as Kaoru was there, any time of the morning, rain or shine, was perfectly ok with me. It was just the thought of talking with her, laughing, while walking to school that made me feel like it was the best thing that there was.

How was I supposed to know that today, that wouldn't be happening.

As always, my plan was that I would go up to the Matsubara's family apartment complex, get in the elevator, go up a couple of floors till I got to the right one, find the right door, and then knock. Afterwards, Mrs. Matsubara would open the door, greet me with a smile that was very hard not to smile back (now I know where Kaoru got her winning Yoshi-melting smile from), and finally it would follow with the usual Matsubara happy greeting.

* * *

Cops

* * *

_What the heck! What are a whole butt-load of cops and police cars doing in front of the Matsubara Family's apartment complex? Was there a robbery last night? Did someone break in?_

Somehow or another, I managed to pass through all the police cars that were there as I quickly made my way to the elevator before running towards the Matsubara's door. As I was running, knocking on the door, and waiting for it to be answered, many thoughts ran through my head.

_I'm sure that it was another neighbor who got in trouble with the police and even if it was, I'm sure everything is alright. If it was a robber or something, the Matsubaras could easily take him down and if it was a group of robbers, they could be taken down just as well. Hell, Kaoru herself could take down an average adult single-handedly even without the help of Dai and her wrestling dad. Shou could even do something to defend himself and he's the youngest. _

_That's right, I'm just over-reacting. Whatever it is that happened, I'm sure that everything is just perfectly fine._

Finally, the door opened.

* * *

Tears

* * *

Whatever it was that I had mentally prepared myself for, I defiantly wasn't prepared to see Mrs. Matsubara's crying face. Her smile was completely gone as she just stood there, with tears falling from her eyes. I also stood there, stunned, not sure what to do.

* * *

You know, it's incredible how much a guy's composure can shatter when they see a crying woman.

Even more so when that crying woman is your girlfriend's mom.

Especially when it just so happens that you yourself don't have a mom…

…or even a dad for that matter.

When the only real family you have is your two brothers.

Along with an evil monkey that you have come to so deeply hate.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Then there are the times when you've gone to your girlfriend's house…

…even during the times that you were only her friend.

And you've gone so many times and had so much fun…

…that her family practically became your other family.

That you see her mom and dad as your own form of parental support.

You look up to her older brother in a form of admiration.

And you see her little brother as something that you can't help but tease and take care of just like you would with Akemi and Riku.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

It makes you feel accepted.

Then as you think about your girlfriend.

And you imagine how it will be in the future…

…when she becomes something more than just your girlfriend.

And her famliy becomes your offical extended famliy…

And you really will be able to someday call her mom "mom" and her dad "dad".

And then you see the whole list…

Akemi and Riku…

Your girlfriend…

Your girlfriend's family…

Your girlfriend's friends…

Even the Professor, Ken, and Peach.

You then see how much it is that they are all precious to you.

How it is that they are the most precious things you have.

Your home.

The most precious things.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

How it is that life would be without them.

How miserable and meaningless life would be without them.

* * *

After a while of standing there, I was finally able to regain my voice. I was still shaking however, as I tried to reach a hand out to Kaoru's mom.

"M-Mrs. Matsubara…Is…Is everything…al-alright?"

Dai then came into view. He had his eyes closed with a pained expression as he had a hand over his face, he was sweating, and he looked like he had just gone a hundred times around in loops and circles. He then shook his head as though he was trying to regain his footing. He gently pushed Mrs. Matsubara to one side as he made his way to me and put both of his big hands on my shoulders. His voice was deep and serious, too serious, and it seemed like he was trying to control himself from breaking down as he started to speak.

"Yoshi, listen to me, and stay calm to whatever it is that I'm about to tell you."

_Stay calm? Wait, what? Is there something that shouldn't make me stay calm?_

"It's about Kaoru…"

_Kaoru? What about Kaoru?_

"She's gone. Damn…She's been kidnapped."

I suddenly felt as though something had pierced right through me.

_Hurts, what the hell is this, it hurts._

"She wouldn't answer her door. Dad had to break it down. Her bedroom window was wide open. She wasn't there. She was gone. On her bed there was a note. 'Don't come looking for Kaoru, she's now taking a trip with us and she ain't coming back, ha ha.' That's what it said."

* * *

…

* * *

I probably blanked out after that because next thing I remember, I was walking like a zombie to school. I would be late if I didn't pick up the pace soon, yet I continued walking.

When I got there, the gate was closed. Obviously, I was late, and I didn't care. Some how or another I was able to go around the school and jump the half-heartedly jump over the fence. I don't know how it is that no one saw me, but somehow or another I made my way inside the building.

The first thing I did was go to the water ditch. I felt sick. Very sick as I staggered to the backyard. I turned on a faucet, had a drink, and later let my whole head get drenched with water as I had been sweating.

I was a wreck. I didn't even feel like going to the classroom, so I made my way to the roof. When I got there, I just found a spot and let myself crash down. My eyes were still wide open, I was trembling, and I felt sick, my whole body hurt, painful. People may think that it is very pathetic for a guy to get this way after their girlfriend goes missing. One would expect a guy to act all tough and insist that their girlfriend would turn out alright on her own. They don't understand.

It's different for me when I hardly had anything to begin with. Back then when my brothers and I were just trouble-making childish delinquents. When I was just lost in darkness, letting it consume and drown me, and when it was Kaoru who pulled me out.

* * *

**xD And it ends right here for now. Page count for this chappie is about 4 and a half pages, not counting the writer's comments. Also, just to let you all know, the next chapter is going to be one super-duper big, yet quick flashback of how Kaoru and Butch got together. So feel free to think of the last part of this chapter as a sort of small cliff hanger. Hee hee. 83 Oh, I wish I could tell you more than this, but that would be spoiling the next chapter completely. Sorry guys, but you'll have to wait for the next updating after I update the next chapter in "Cursed Child", which by the way who knows when that'll be…uh…let's see here…what am I writing for chapter 12 again? *Quickly checking the Cursed Child Story Plans* n.n Ah…ok, that shouldn't be too much trouble. And by the way, M:SK doesn't have much of a story plan document. I mean, I pretty much know how I want the main parts to go and the rest I just write off the top of my head. Also, M:SK compared to Cursed Child won't have many chapter. While M:SK will probably have like around 15 chapters at the most, I've already calculated that Cursed Child will need about 50 chapters before I can finally deem it as "Complete".**

**Peace and Out.**


	6. Butch's Past, Part 1!

**Hi everyone! Ok, so when I was beginning to write this, one of my reviewers asked why I hadn't first started with how the RRBz and PPGz got together. Well, I explained the reason and then 3 years later, here I am thinking if whether or not I should write how Kaoru and Butch got together since it seems to have some importance to the story. So here to have it folks. Part 1 of how Kaoru and Butch got together. Anyway, this chapter is like 10 pages long, so I do hope you all enjoy.**

**I'M A DISCLAIMER! I DO NO OWN PPGz. xD If I did, I would have had more KaoruxButch moments!**

* * *

Nothing

What must it have felt to be nothing? To simply not exist?

We had no memories of the time before we were created. We didn't even know how we were created. Our eyes just opened one day and we found ourselves somewhere with minds already programmed to do the daily necessary functions. After that, all we knew was an instinct in our guts that told us to destroy, to torment, to cause havoc. It did come as a shock to us when we found out that we were made using Powerpuff Girls z DNA and some other ingredients that brought the question as to how on earth the stupid monkey had managed to create something alive out of. Try living your life knowing that.

To tell the truth, it's probably because of this, the fact that we were just "created" with our path chosen for us and a huge chunk of childhood and social interaction missing, that we were never truly happy. Some days we would cause trouble and other days even that became a bore. But hey, we didn't know what else to do.

Brick and Boomer could easily keep up a smile with their childish acts, but I could tell, we all could tell, that this was no way to make a living.

But we could never bring ourselves to admit that. After all, we didn't want to lose that only purpose we believed that kept us together. Each of us was all the other had and even then, that felt nothing like family. We would argue and play, but we were basically on our own.

We were born in darkness, but we didn't even want to lose that since it was all we had. Otherwise, we would have been nowhere and that would have been like being nothing all over again…only worse 'cause we would have still been living not dead.

* * *

I guess you could say that our lives finally changed the day that Mojo Jojo did something that almost killed us.

You see, Mojo figured that the reason we were at the same level as the Powerpuff Girls z was because we were supposedly younger. He figured that if we got to around their same age, since we were boys, we would be way stronger.

Get where this is going?

Mojo then made this potion-thingy that when we drank it, it would make us grow older. Now, I don't know how the stupid monkey managed to convince us to drink that, but we did.

I wish that he would have at least had thought things through.

You see, Mojo forgot one little important detail. My brothers and I were LIVING in HUMAN BODIES! We weren't objects or robots or whatever other crap he has in his poor excuse for a lair!

The minute we drank that potion, we felt a horrible pain go through our bodies. Ever heard of those people who were executed in the past by having one end of a couple of ropes tied to their limbs and the other ends tied to some horses, then the horses would all run in different directions and the person would be stretched to the point that their limbs would rip apart from the main body? THAT is how we were feeling. Only difference was that our limbs were still thankfully attached to our bodies. Oh, and I should also add the experience of the worst headache in the history of headaches. Anyway, the monkey was so panicked that he didn't know what to do and just ran all over the place. You know what he decided to do next? Well, he figured we were dying and he didn't want to have dead bodies near his house, so he got on one of his robots, picked us up, and dropped us off at some sort of far away forest where hardly anyone ever passed by. And then he left. He had just left us to die. Stupid monkey.

While I held my head painfully and my body trembled, I somehow managed to wearily open one of my eyes. This meant that I was in a better condition than my brothers. Boomer, who was the weakest out of the three of us, had already passed out. As I looked at him, half of me wanted to congratulate him for being so lucky. He didn't have to hold the pain anymore. Brick, who was the second strongest, could hardly even move his hands to add pressure to his head and his eyes were closed. He was still trembling though and at the last moment before he passed out he gave one of the most ear-piercing yells that could have ever come out of a guy. That yell was his cry for help. I didn't have much time to think about whether or not someone would find us 'cause before I knew it, my limbs gave away as I then felt everything go pitch black.

* * *

After being in a K.O. for some time, I felt the feeling of peace coming back to my mind. Thankfully, I was no longer in pain. As I opened my eyes, it took a while for my vision to clear.

_Where…am I?_

I then looked around to my right and saw the Professor, Ken (who was holding Peach), and the Powerpuff Girls z right next to them.

I would have panicked if it wasn't for the fact that my mind then switched to looking for my brothers first. It didn't take long. All I had to do was look to my left and Brick was there with his eyes already open. As I looked at him, I saw that he was concerned of what could possibly happen to us. Boomer was right next to Brick and I had to squint to see him through the glass. He was also awake and he was looking around like crazy trying to find a way out.

_Wait…GLASS?_

I looked around me to see that I was surrounded by glass walls. It was like I was in one of those glass coffins that you see in Snow White. When I turned to look back at the Professor, Ken, Peach, and the Powerpuff Girls z, I saw that they were staring at us.

_What the hell._ I did not like being coped up in some space and looked at as though I was some sort of thing in a window display. I am not a thing. My brothers and I are not things to be starred at like that. _GET ME OUT!_

I punched the glass with all the force that I could manage, but what came back at me was a pain on my knuckles.

"Oh be careful!" The Professor then told me after he saw my failed attempt to break out. "The glass is very strong to the point that it is un-breakable and your powers have no effect."

As I rubbed the soreness out of my hand, I turned to give him a glare. _Thanks a lot. A minute or two BEFORE I had thrown the punch would have been nice you know._ My mental snap made him, Ken, and Peach flinch. The Powerpuff Girls z hardly even moved a muscle, probably because they were already used to dealing with danger every day.

As much as that glare meant, I probably would have thrown the punch anyway even if someone had told me that the glass was unbreakable. Though now that I think about it, that would have explained Brick's and Boomer's current reactions. They had probably also tried to punch the glass and failed.

Now that the three of us were awake, all that was left was to see what these people wanted to do with my brothers and me.

Brick had for once exchanged his childish face for a more serious one that was full of concern, concern for what would happen to us. Now that was a look that I would have never thought to have seen on him. Brick was like the leader and that was because for some unknown reason, he was the one who had a whole lot of street smarts, though that didn't mean that I would agree with everything that he would think of. Since he liked to tease us when our lives weren't at stake, he wouldn't admit that if Boomer or I died, he would the one to blame himself since he kind of felt it like his job to look after us. It was for the same reason with his teasing that Boomer and I wouldn't admit, at least not out loud, that if something had happened to Brick while we were living in the streets, Boomer and I would be completely screwed.

Boomer was trying his hardest to put up a tough face, which was failing miserably. Instead of looking scary, he was trembling, in fact, if he had had a choice, he would have chosen to have hidden behind Brick. It honestly didn't matter how much trouble we caused for the people of Tokyo City. Brick and I knew full well that Boomer was the one out of the three of us who was most dependent, heck he's the easiest one to scare. Also, he normally preferred to be dependent of Brick than me, which was probably due to the fact that Brick talked and joked more. I was normally very quite to the point that I was probably unapproachable. In fact, if Brick were to have one day told us that we were to jump off a cliff, Boomer would've without hesitation agreed and I would've somehow later been dragged into it.

Unlike my brothers, I was glaring with all the glare-power that I could manage. My glare said something like 'Try anything that we don't like and somehow, someway you WILL die.'

"Oi oi! Wait a minute, calm down!" Blossom yelled nervously.

"We won't hurt you." Bubbles said calmly.

"Just allow us to explain some things and then you can go back to doing that." Buttercup said, giving us a glare of her own that told us to do as said.

Well, at least we did calm down…just a little.

Boomer finally stopped trembling, but fear was still written all over his face. Brick's face had turned blank, another look that I had thought I'd never see. I just dropped the glare and now wore an angry scowl. Well, at least I was no longer emitting a threatening aura right?

* * *

After about half an hour, we found out that the forest where Mojo had dropped us off at was actually not that far in distance from the Professor's house. We were lucky that the Monkey hadn't noticed. We were also lucky that at that time, the Professor had decided to do some gardening outside with Ken and Peach. The Powerpuff Girls z had been invited to help. So they were outside when they heard Brick's yell and since the Powerpuff Girls z had some sort of super hearing when it came to cries for help, it didn't really take long for them to find us. Even though we were evil, it's not like they were the kind of people to leave us dead in the forest, so they decided to have the Professor help us recover. The reason why we were in the glass-like coffins was because they were what had helped us recover, since they were programmed that way.

We had wasted so much luck that if we never won the lottery, I would know why.

Then another half an hour passed. My brothers and I then had to give an explanation of why we were in such critical condition in the forest to even begin with. In other words, we had to mention Mojo's twisted idea to help us get stronger along with the fact that he abandoned us when he saw the consequences. Brick did most of the talking.

So after that was taken care of, the Professor, Ken, Peach, and the Powerpuff Girls z decided to make a proposition to us. The proposition was that, if we didn't mind, we could stay living at the Professor's house, go to school, and fight for justice.

…

…

…

WTF. Was this their idea of some sort of twisted joke?

* * *

Brick, Boomer, and I had a big look of confusion.

As always, Brick was the one who spoke and it was obvious to see that his tone was full of suspicion. "As much as your invitation says, I hope you remember that we are trapped inside unbreakable glass walls. If you don't mind, we want to get out."

"Oh, right! I'll let you out right now." The Professor said quickly. A little TOO quickly.

"And what happens if we attack once we're out?" I asked, scowling again.

"Ah, you won't be able to." Momoko answered. "The Professor put some wrist bands on you that are hard to take off and will electrocute you some if you try to do something."

That really hit us. At the same time, my brothers and I turned our heads to look at our wrists and see that both of them had bands on them. We tried to rip them off and saw that it was in vain. Seeing as how they had been right about the unbreakable glass, I decided to not take chances in feeling an electrocution.

Finally, the glass opened up and my brothers and I were able to huddle together. The Powerpuff Girls Z were standing in front of us. It was then that we noticed that we had to literally look DOWN on them. My eyes widened as I turned to look at my brothers who were also doing the same. We were taller? What on earth, how could this be?

The Professor noticed our confusion. "Whatever Mojo gave you really worked. You are now supposedly "older" in physical form than what you were before."

Brick then looked at the Professor and decided that it was best of the group talked in PRIVATE. So he huddled Boomer and me to a corner a bit farther away from the others and then started talking.

* * *

"Well, what do you think?"

"We're older. We could easily take them down." Boomer answered.

"Yeah, but what about these wrist bands? Damn them." I said.

"No, not that!" Brick said as he shook his head. "I was talking about their offer."

"What!" Boomer and I asked at the same time.

"Do you think we should accept it?" Brick wondered.

"But Brick, if we join their side that means we won't be able to do bad things anymore." Boomer argued…well more like whined.

"Yeah, but if we join their side, we'll be able to beat Mama with no problems whenever he decides to cause trouble doesn't it?" Brick reminded.

Well, he was right on that one.

Boomer and I were silent.

Sometimes I wonder if whatever Mojo made us drink actually made us more mature than our previous childish selves because what Brick said next was something that will be hard to forget.

Brick looked at us and then sighed. "Look guys, let's stop lying to ourselves and admit it. We'll be getting nowhere if we continue with our current lives in the streets. It's about time we finally admitted that it's not the best way for us to live."

Boomer and I looked at Brick, surprised at what he had said. We didn't need to say that we agreed with what he had said, Brick already knew that. He was right. We had already known that we weren't happy with our previous lives, but that didn't change the fact that we were scared. Scared of what could happen to us if we accepted the offer.

"What if they do something bad to us?" Boomer asked, admitting that he was afraid.

"Don't worry. They're supposed to be good guys." Brick assured. "I'm sure that they wouldn't do something to hurt us for no reason."

"But the city people may not accept us!" I said.

"Butch, I'm sure that once they see us saving their skins, they'll put our past behind them and treat us like heroes." Brick answered.

As much as Brick liked to joke and act like a goofball, it's amazing how he can act when he's dead serious.

We were all silent again.

"Come on guys." Brick tried to persuade us again. "A chance to freely beat the Monkey is in front of us and we can't just let that fly out the window."

"Ok." Boomer said, after much hesitation.

"And you Butch?" Brick asked, looking at me.

"I'm in." I answered.

"Ok then. It's decided!" Brick said, smiling in relief.

* * *

We got out of our huddle and turned to face the others who were trying to see if they could by any change eavesdrop on our conversation.

"Ok, we'll accept it." Brick said, mostly to the Professor.

The Professor, Ken, Peach, and the Powerpuff Girls z all had a surprised look on their face as though they were expecting us to have answered differently.

"But, on one condition." As always, Brick had something to add.

He waited until the he knew that they were listening until he spoke again. When he did speak, his voice showed that he was not joking. "Next time Mojo attacks, we get the dibs. Got it?"

Boomer and I nodded to that to show that that was what we wanted.

"Sure, he's all yours." Blossom said as she held out her hand to Brick. Bubbles and Buttercup did the same by holding out their hands to Boomer and me.

"Then deal." Brick said, as she shook Blossom's hand. Boomer shook Bubble's and I shook Buttercup's.

"Welcome to the team." Blossom congratulated.

* * *

Now, you may think that the reason we joined was mostly because we wanted to get back at Mojo Jojo, but inside, we knew that our reason for joining had almost nothing to do with that stupid monkey. It didn't matter how much we wanted to beat him to a pulp, we could have done that even if we hadn't chosen to join the good guys.

Let's put it this way…

You are supposed to be an evil villain because you were born that way and all of a sudden you get the chance to change sides. But you had done so many bad things. How does saying "I hate my life and I want to change my evil ways and become good" sound to you? Sounds embarrassing, lame, and pathetic doesn't it?

Now let's put it that you say that your reason for joining is for revenge. Well, that sounds a lot more reasonable for someone who was supposed to be an evil kid villain and got hurt by that someone whom you want to get revenge on. Then you finally manage to get revenge and by that time, the good guys and you are so accustomed to your new change that they won't even question whether or not you'll stay even after you manage to get even with that certain someone.

So there, everyone's happy.

In other words, my brothers and I used the Monkey as an excuse for us to join. At least he and that stupid potion were good for something for once.

* * *

A few days later, the Rowdyruff Boys z were given new human identities and were living with the Professor. Would you believe that we just randomly picked our names out of the internet? Well, we did. Brick was now "Akemi", Boomer was now "Riku", and I was "Yoshi".

By the way, I would later wish that I had chosen my name more carefully. Brick later found out that "Akemi" was mostly a girl's name because when he typed "Akemi", a whole bunch of female models showed up, seriously, do it and see where it gets you. Boomer did the same thing found out that "Riku" was actually some guy in Kingdom Hearts. At least they were still people as I on the other hand found out that "Yoshi" was the name of some sort of green dinosaur from Super Mario.

And it was too late to change that. Wonderful isn't it? (Please note my sarcasm)

We had also been told the real identities of the Powerpuff Girls z. Who would have guessed that they were just normal girls who had the lottery luck of being hit with white chemical z rays? Anyways, we each had been given our own rooms, set of cloths, and some school supplies. Yeah, school supplies, because the next day, we were to go to our first day at high school as first years.

* * *

"Today class, we have 3 new students." the teacher said, as he pointed to us. Yeah, the teacher in the 9th grade class had been a guy. "Boys, may you introduce yourselves to the class."

"Yo, my name is Akemi Kitazawa and these are my brothers. We're new here so I hope it's alright if we ask questions now and then on how things work. Anyways, pleased to meet you all and we look forward to working with all of you for the rest of the year."

The other students looked at him with interest. That's Brick/Akemi for you. You have to admit, the guy has charisma in making an introduction.

"Hello, my name is Riku Kitazawa." Boomer/Riku was obviously nervous to the point that he got a bit panicked. "Um…I do hope we can get along with each other and please take good care of us!"

Instead of looking at him weirdly, most of the classmates had the expression on their face that one gets when seeing a lost and very cute puppy.

I looked at my classmates and then found it easier to just turn my head away to one side. "I'm Yoshi Kitazawa…Hi."

Everyone in the room, including the teacher and my brothers looked at me strangely. Well excuse me for not being as social as my brothers, but I was nervous. I hate people starring at me, and I don't even talk much to begin with! That's just the way I am. I'm not into motivational speaking like Brick and the day that I act all Boomer-like will be the day that hell freezes over.

After some time of people starring at me and me scowling back, the teacher finally gave a light cough and told us to sit anywhere as long as it was an empty seat.

I quickly scanned the class to look for empty seats. There were four. One was next to a group of girls near the window, one was somewhere in the middle next to both guys and girls, one was more up front and closer to the door way, and the last one was way back and in a corner.

This meant that we were to sit separately, a fact that I really disliked.

Completely avoiding the seat next to a bunch of girls, you can guess where it was that we sat.

Akemi sat in the seat that was more up in the front and next to the door.

Riku choose the seat that was in the middle of both boys and girls in hope of making friends.

I, who was more like the lone and quiet wolf, choose the seat that was the farthest away and in a corner.

Our counterparts, who were in the same class at the time, were sitting together near the window. Weren't they lucky?

Well, I just didn't let the thought that my brothers and I were sitting separately bother me. I figured that as long as we were in the same class, then there would be a way for things to work out for the rest of the year.

Right?

* * *

WRONG!

Me and my big thoughts. Damn it! I might as well have jinxed it!

Half way through the school session, we got an announcement from the principle to meet outside in the courtyard. All the students and teachers hurried and lined up in rows once we got there.

The principle came out and told us an announcement…

"I know that this may be a bit sudden, but there has been a decision to make a class rearrangement. Today you will get a slip telling you where you are to be moved and tomorrow you are expected to go where it tells you."

_What the heck!_

That was my first thought. I later saw that I wasn't the only one who was like that. Many of the students were muttering among themselves as well.

"What? Again?" I heard one girl say.

_Again?_

A boy next to me sighed and made a remark. "Dang, this is the second time this has happened. Are they planning to do this every year?"

_Second time? Every year? Wait, did this happen last year as well?_

My brothers and I looked at each other and then for some reason, I got a sick feeling in my stomach that one gets when they know that something un-likeable is going to happen.

My stomach was right.

* * *

Class 1-A: Akemi and Momoko

Class 1-B: Riku and Miyako

Class 1-C: Me and Kaoru.

Sounds too much to be considered as just a mere coincidence doesn't it?

* * *

Well, you can only imagine what it was like after school ended, when my brothers and I stormed to the Professor to ask what the heck was happening. You can also imagine the heavy atmosphere the followed when the Professor explained that the Mayor had decided to do that due to the fact that if 6 kids were to make excuses to leave from the SAME CLASSROOM at the SAME TIME, then that would be rather suspicious, not to mention that it would cause some trouble with the staff.

Curse the staff

Curse the school

Curse the Mayor

Curse the Professor

Curse this stupid life and what would later follow…

* * *

**And done!**

**Well, there you have it. **

**To tell the truth, I was going to make this whole "How Butch And Kaoru Got Together" part just ONE SUPER LONG chapter. But I later figured that this was a pretty good place to stop for the moment. Anyway, after I finish updating chapter 13 in "Cursed Child", please look forward to M:SK - Chapter 6, Butch's Past (Part 2). Though I still don't know if this whole part will be 2 parts or 3 parts. I'll just have to keep writing to figure that out and you'll have to keep on reading.**

**n.n And now it's time to answer reviews!**

ppgz luv adventure time luv: **Thank you. I'm glad that you like what you are reading. And I can't wait to write what Butch actually does to Ace after he finds out what happened.**

BC -luver123: **Well, I finally updated, but I'm sorry that it wasn't "soon". **

snowheart123: **Rest assured, I don't care if it takes 10 years, but I'll make sure that this story gets "completed" one way or another! 8D You can trust me on that!**

THE POWEPUFF: **n.n;; Ah ha ha ha. *Pats you on the head* Well, I'm sorry it took so long to update, but at least I updated...right? OAO Glad to see that you're really into it though, that keeps me going.**

**Anyway, I'm going to go prepare for school now. Over here where I live, school won't start for another 1 and a half weeks! xD I'm lucky! QAQ Or maybe not since 1 and a half weeks will pass by rather quickly. Also add the fact that I'll be a senior this year...TToTT Good bye my youth and free education!**

**Please look forward to my next update. Peace and Out.**


	7. Butch's Past, Part 2!

**Me: XD HI GUYS! I'm back, and with a new name. Yeah, I became a Persona 4 fan and well, as you can see, Naoto Shirogane is my favorite. OwO She is sooo cooool!**

**Fans: *Glaring at me***

**Me: O_O;; Uh…I'm guessing that you're all kind of mad that I took 10 months to update.**

**Fans: *Pull out pitch forks and burning torches all while murmuring bloody murder***

**Me: Q_Q;; And now I know that I'm right. **

**Fans: *Start to draw closer* **

**Me: TT0TT OK OK! I'm SORRY I was so late on updating! Let me explain! Firstly, I just graduated from High School and during my last year, I was trying really hard to score good grades (which I succeeded in doing) and I also was busy signing up for scholarships (TT-TT Which I failed in getting). And then there was graduation and all that stuff. And then finally school was let out on June 5…**

**Fans: YOU TOOK THIS LONG TO UPDATE SINCE JUNE 5TH! *Now are REALLY angry***

**Me: TT^TT I had writer's block AGAIN ok? And I'm still busy with applying for scholarships (I still have 4 to 5 more shots, so someone please wish me luck). Not counting the Author's Comments, this whole chapter is 11 pages. I was going to make it a little longer (around 18 pages), but I stopped on page 15 when I saw that I was starting to write gibberish and that the plot was going by a little too fast and unclear. So I then chose a spot to leave off of, which led this to being the 11 pages that it is right now. The other 4 pages that I had written is where the story will pick up on for the next chapter.**

**Fans: *Are still glaring***

**Me: QwQ;; Umm…please enjoy the chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PPGz!**

* * *

Here's a pop quiz. What happens when you get a guy who is not too keen on social skills, separate him from the only 2 people that he can be comfortable with, and then put him in a room full of idiots?

The Correct Answer: Shit happens.

* * *

_Is it time to go home yet?_

This is what I was thinking in my head as I sat in silence at my desk in the corner of the new classroom, hoping that no one would notice me. I was actually succeeding; the only problem was that the whole classroom was god damn noisy. It was like having 12 pairs of Bricks and Boomers here. The difference was that I didn't personally know any of the people here (not even Kaoru) and truth be told, I didn't even want to know them.

I was just starting to think about how I would actually be able to manage with school so long as I was in the back corner (where people ignored me), when the teacher walked in and said…

"Hi, I'm Mr. Takanishi. I'll be your teacher for the rest of this year. Now would everyone please get up and pull a number from this box? The number you pick out will determine where it is you will sit."

I looked at him as though he was joking. Then the other kids started going up to pick a number and once I realized that he wasn't joking, I mentally groaned.

Truthfully, since there are more theories on god than there are in an Old Style Buffet Area, I don't really know who or what it is that makes the rules about someone's fate. All I can say is that whatever it is must really hate me. Currently I was sitting smack dab in the middle of the room. Absolutely no one can sit in the middle of the room without going un-noticed. I could feel other people looking at me. I turned around to glare at the kid who was sitting in my preferred corner seat. The dude looked pitiful as he saw my glare and nervously turned away to look at the wall instead, all while wondering what it was the he ever did to me. Oh, if only that little lucky bastard knew.

"Would you stop glaring at the kid already?" A sharp voice said from right next to me.

I flinched a bit as I turned around to glare at whoever the wise guy was that decided to get into my business. My face expression then turned into a slight form of confusion when I saw that it was Kaoru.

"Try to keep yourself out of trouble will ya?" She said as she scowled at me.

My look of confusion formed a scowl of my own and for a while we scowled at each other before turning away from each other. I turned to look at my desk and I could hear the kid in the corner sigh in relief. It was then that my mind switch suddenly clicked when I realized what had just happened. I turned again to look at Kaoru.

She noticed my starring. "What?"

I just blinked and looked turned to look at the blackboard. I then heard her mumbling "weird" under her breath. Great, so far it's only the second day of school and my self-image seems to be going only farther down the drain.

I sighed. _Back to the matter at hand, I guess this means that the tomboy girl would be sitting next to me for the rest of the year. Well, at least she's quiet. So as long as I mind my own business, she should be able to mind hers. This isn't so bad, could have been worse…_

"Hey, I found my seat! And LUCKY-EEE! It's next to a cute babe!"  
"Heh, hate to tell you Shin, but I think that's a guy."  
"WHAT!" I heard the dude (apparently his name was Shin) yell.

Great..just great. Isn't it amazing how my life loves to prove me wrong? I swear I make it look easy.

I then felt a poke on my shoulders. "Hey you, you're a girl right?"

_WTF!_

I turned to glare at hell out of the guy.

Shin stepped back a bit and I heard on of his goons gulp right behind him.

"HEY! Watch it punk! Just because you look pretty, don't think that this means that I won't be willing to cause you physical pain!"

_Pretty? _My mind what swirling now with annoyance. Any moment now and I would lose it. _No, just ignore him, ignore him._

"Anyways, I'm Shin, and who are you?"

Due to all the commotion that was happening, I could feel all pairs of eyes looking at us. _Just ignore him, just ignore him, ignore, ignore._

"I'M TALKING TO YOU!" I could then feel him grab my collar. SHIT, this dude was taller than me! _This is bad. I'm not able to use my powers without Peach's voice activation. Damn that stupid dog._

I was preparing myself for the worst when I saw a hand grab his wrist and squeeze it until Shin yelled in pain.

"Oi, cut it out will ya?" It was Kaoru.

"Oh, and who might you be?"

"Kaoru Matsubara and would you put the guy down before I decide to beat you to a pulp?"

"And what could a small guy like you do, huh?"

"Um Shin." One of his goons whispered (The same one who said that I was a guy). "Actually, that's a girl."

"WHAT?!" Shin exclaimed. "What is wrong with this school?!"

_My thoughts exactly…_

The guy continued to whisper. "Shin, I've heard about her. Kaoru Matsubara is the most athletic girl in school!"

"So? I can still take her on."

Another dude whispered. "Actually, you can't. I heard that her father is a famous pro wrestling champion and her older brother is more athletic than she is. If you hurt her, imagine what they could do to you."

Shin thought about it and then shivered. But he still tried to keep up his macho act.

"You can't tell me what to do!"

"ENOUGH!" We all turned our heads and saw the teacher. "Such intolerable behavior! Since we're all new to this classroom, I'll let it slide for now, but this is your only warning. Do I make myself clear!"

"Yes Takanishi-Sensei."

Shin put me down and we all sat back in our seats.

"Good, now let's begin."

* * *

_GOD DAMMIT!_

So far, this has been the worst school day! Allow me to elaborate…

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

**Class Introductions:**

I stood up when it was my turn. I could feel all eyes looking at me, god it was like being in the middle of an interrogation room at the police station while being accused of a murder that one didn't even commit! What it was that they were all thinking, I didn't know and didn't even care.

"My name is Yoshi Utonium." I looked around and couldn't figure out what else to say. "Um…can I sit down now?"

"For a guy, he sure looks pretty." I heard one girl mummer to her friend behind me.

"What's with the ponytail and feminine looks?" I heard another guy somewhere else behind me question. "You don't suppose he has some sort of weird hobby do you?"

_! #$%^&*()O_O!_ I almost choked on that last comment. _DUDE I'M RIGHT HERE AND I CAN HERE YOU!_

**Gym:**

I was changing into my gym uniform and right before I could even take off my shirt I could feel stares being directed at me.

I turned around and saw the other boys in the class room looking at me as though they were waiting for something.

"What?" I asked as I glared.

At that, all the boys turned around and looked in the other direction. I went back to undressing until I heard whispers coming from the guys.

"He wouldn't even let us see. He MUST be a girl."

"Yeah dude, there's no way a guy could be that pretty."

"Perhaps she's a lesbian?"

At that, my face turned red and I quickly got undressed, packed my stuff, stormed across the room to the exit (much to the surprise of the other guys), and slammed the door hard with all the might that I could give.

**Lunch:**

For once, this was one period that I was beginning to love. Since there were no specific rules that stated that one had to eat with only the classmates in their classroom, I found this to be the perfect time to hang out with my brothers. The only downside was that they were talking about how much fun they were having in their classes. I had to lie when they asked me how I was doing by saying that I was also enjoying myself. After all, I didn't want to have them worry about me when this was supposed to be our chance to live better lives.

As I was enjoying the lunch that the Professor had packed for us, I noticed that there were a bunch of girls looking through the doorway.

_Are they looking for someone? _I wondered, as I continued to eat.

"Hey hey, I think that's him." One of the girls whispered.

"Wow, he really does look like a girl!" Another one commented.

"Shh, he might here us!"

My food almost went down the wrong pipe. _Too late you idiots, I CAN ALREADY HEAR YOU CRYSTAL CLEAR!_ Thankfully, my brothers didn't seem to know who they were talking about.

"Hey, look."

"Where?" One asked

"By the window."

"Who is…Is that Kaoru Matsubara!"

"Wow, she really does look cool!"

"And she's so manly…" Another one of the girls sighed.

At that, I looked at Kaoru. My eating manners were rather very polite compared to hers. I grimaced as I saw her chow down her food. Was she even chewing?

"Amazing…" One of the group of girls whispered again. "Kaoru looks so much like a guy."

"And that guy ooks so much like a girl."

"Actually, I think he looks prettier than most of the other girls in this school."

"No way! What if a guy falls for him?"

"What if one already has?"

"Ew, is he gay?"

_Ignore, ignore, ignore, IGNORE!_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

**Also during lunch:**

After hearing the annoying conversation the girls had, I just decided to finish my lunch quickly and excused myself from my brothers as I went to take a walk around the school; maybe I could buy some juice at a vending machine. When I got there, there was this guy who was looking at me all funny. Expecting a fight, I stiffened myself as I saw him walking up to me.

"Will you please go out with me?"

_Wait…WHAT?!_

"I've liked you ever since I first saw you this morning. You're the most beautiful and graceful, yet tomboyish girl that I have ever seen. Will you please go out with me?"

_Is this dude serious?_

I looked at the dude to see if he was making a really nasty joke. When I saw that he was indeed very serious, I felt a knot in my stomach as I tensed.

_Aw man! How the heck am I supposed to get myself out of this mess?_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Overall, I had come to the final conclusion that the whole school was full of people who either had nothing but shit for brains, tended to get high on drugs, or both.

I sighed at my frustration for my own misfortune. No sooner did I do that when I then felt a ball of paper hit my head and land at my desk.

I turned and saw Shin and his goons grinning evilly while pointing at me and the paper. Idiots, what did they want from me anyways? I stood up and basketball threw the paper away in the nearest bin only to have another one thrown at me when I sat back down. Once again, I threw it in the bin. It took till the third try for me to finally notice how they weren't snickering anymore and were instead angrily pointing at the paper with threatening signs of what they wished to do if I didn't do what they wanted me to do with the object at my table. Did they want me to uncrumble it? Were these guys five or something?

None the less, I did as they wanted me to and uncrumbled the paper only to find that there was a note written on it.

_Hey girlie boy, next time we're alone, you're gonna get that little makeover we owe you._

I blinked at it before looking back towards where Shin was, once again resuming his snickering with his goons right behind him.

I sighed. _Great, just great. First two days of school, I'm quiet, unsociable, took on the term 'weird' as a first impression, I got separated from my two brothers who are the only people that I know and can feel comfortable around, I'm put smack dab in the middle of a classroom, everyone keeps pointing out that I look like a girl, people are even starting to wonder if I have any weird hobbies, other are questioning my sexuality, some guy actually seriously confessed his feelings to me, I sit right next to a girl who might as well be a guy and whom I only know by name and get along with just as well as a person would get along with their neighborhood cop, and now some dudes are after me with the intent of giving me a black eye! _I sighed again. _Life sucks._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ring!

The bell rang…Finally!

I got up, packed my stuff, and left. Shin and his so-called gang decided to leave me alone, mostly because Kaoru was coincidentally nearby (and they REALLY DID NOT want to get mixed with her). Instead, they went running outside yelling words of freedom as they went to go hang somewhere. At least we agreed on something. If it wasn't for my quiet personality, I would have been yelling words of freedom too.

I walked out into the hall leaned against a wall, waiting for my brothers to come out of their own classrooms. Our classrooms were right next to each other's, so it really wasn't hard to listen to what was going on in both of them. What I saw and heard would later explain why I was the only one out of the room before they were.

With Brick/Akemi's Classroom:

Brick…uh I mean…Akemi looked like he had somehow managed to reach the whole class with his leadership skills. There was this whole group of girls and guys huddled around him.

"Akemi-kun! You are sooo cool!" One girl squealed, which was followed by other girls.

"Hey, do you want to become the class rep next week?" A guy said.

"Forget class rep, he should become the school prez!" Another one added.

"Hey dude, wanna go to the arcade after school?"

With Boomer/Riku's Classroom:

Riku's class wasn't much different than Akemi's. Apparently, his puppy-dog look managed to earn him the love of all the girls in his class.

"Riku, you are so cute!"

"Hey Riku, I made these cookies today, you want some?"

"Hey Riku, do you want us to walk you home?"

"Riku, wanna go out with us for ice cream?"

I especially looked at Riku's room, suddenly feeling worried that those girls might try to assault him.

Anyways, both of their answers and the reaction of the class was the same…

"Sorry guys, but I promised to walk home with my brothers today."

"Huh? You have brothers?" Their classmates would wonder.

"Yeah."

Then one would remark that they've seen us together and that we don't even look alike, to which Akemi and Riku would reply…

"Ha ha, yeah, we kind of get that a lot, but we're brothers."

While watching the whole thing, I couldn't help but notice this feeling in my chest as I stood there. It felt so heavy and it hurt. What was this feeling?

I didn't really have much time to think about it as my brothers both came out and waved good-bye to their friends. As we left the hall, I could hear their classmates behind me whisper to each other.

"Hey, those are his brothers?"

"Wow, the one in the blue shirt looks cute."

"Wow, the one in the red shirt looks cool."

"Doesn't the one in the green shirt look kind of girly?"

"Yeah, I've also heard that he isn't talkative."

"He isn't very friendly."

"He's probably one of those loners that you see in dramas."

"He should be more like his brothers."

Again, what was this feeling?

* * *

Not much of a difference happened over the course of the next two weeks. It was practically a repeat of events where surprisingly, Shin never got around to punching me. Oh, the only change after Day 1 in my new class was that I had become a Tokio fan. I just happened to one day turn on the TV and there was a pro wrestling match with a dude who was great at kicking his opponent's ass. Adding the muscles, the pride, and the manliness that he showed, it was no surprise that I later admired him as an idol and as an example for who I wished to be. After watching two matches on TV, my room was later decorated with a couple of Tokio posters. Ah, if only I ever met that dude, perhaps he could teach me some moves, but let's be realistic. What are the chances that I would ever get to meet the famous pro wrestler Tokio…what-ever-his-last-name-is? **(AN: Oh Butch, if only you knew.) **

Putting that aside, I actually grew quiet accustomed to being a loner. Yeah, two weeks had passed and I didn't have any friends. People would have thought that I was contempt being the way I was and I pretty much was, but as always, one can't stop expecting some form of surprise to come ahead, and for me, it wasn't a good one.

* * *

The day THAT happened, was a typical normal day of lunch…well…ALMOST. Some guys had finished their lunch early and had decided to play soccer. I, with my brothers, had decided to follow them to watch and Kaoru came along to actually play. My brothers and I sat under a tree while they were playing and the sun was a little hot. Add the fact that just watching the people in front of me run around a lot was tiring enough, it was no surprise that I later felt a little thirsty. I just told my brothers where I was going and excused myself from there and went to the vending machine to buy a drink.

Now just imagine this scene…

I'm at the vending machine, picking up my drink, when suddenly Shin and his gang appear right behind me. Shin mummers something around the lines of "Ha, looks like your little knight in shining armor isn't here this time princess", which I obviously catch but am unable to understand and before I am able to react, he gives me a good punch to the stomach that leaves me in a slump on the floor. Later I hear Shin picking up my drink and walking off with his gang while laughing…that is until he then gives out a yell of surprise. Through my half-conscious mind, I can only hear him saying "Huh! What are you doing here? I-I thought you were o-outside!" along with his goons screaming for mercy. Who they were so scared of, I didn't get to find out because next thing I know, my consciousness gives away and I black out.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

When I finally came to and opened my eyes, I found myself starring at a ceiling that apparently belonged to the school's clinic. I turned around to look at my surroundings only to find a window on one side and a curtain on the other.

"WRAH!"

It was then that I flinched as my ears started to pick up the sounds of someone yelling and banging one of their fists on a table. Whoever they were must have not known that I was awake or must have not cared that this was an infirmary.

"H-Hey, calm down desu~wa." I heard a girl's voice say. _Wait…was that…Miyako?_

"Yeah, you'll wake him up." After hearing Miyako, it was easy to tell that that was Momoko.

"Argh! I know, but I should have been keeping my eye on him!" And that voice belonged to Kaoru, but who was she talking about?

"Kaoru-chan, it's not your fault desu~wa. You've been looking after Yoshi-kun ever since he came to school desu~wa." _W-WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY?!_

"Yeah, I mean, you can't expect yourself to look after him all the time, especially when he doesn't know".

"You think he would be happy knowing? Damn, I warned him not to cause trouble for himself the first day and now I'm stuck babysitting! I just turn my back around for 1 minute, just 1 MINUTE and this crap happens!"

"But Kaoru-chan, the nurse said that he would be fine desu~wa."

"Yeah, and Shin and the others got detention for the whole week."

I then heard Kaoru sigh. "Look, how about you guys just go back and I'll join you later."

I then heard some footsteps heading out the door.

It took a while to register what I had just heard. I then connected it to what Shin had said before he punched me. _Heh, so this is what he meant. This whole time, every time I saw Kaoru nearby, it was on PURPOSE! She was the reason Shin wouldn't hurt me. So this whole time, this whole time, I was protected by a GIRL! _I ended the thought on a bit of an angry-frustrated note. I then heard footsteps getting closer to me and I didn't even bother to pretend that I was still asleep. When Kaoru was within my view, I could see that she saw that I was awake and that I had heard enough of the conversation to understand what it was that had been happening ever since my first day of class. I'm guessing that she must have also noticed the look of shock on my face, which told her that I did not enjoy the fact that she had been "babysitting" me (as she put the term), because she just looked straight at me and said…

"Look, I don't care what you think, but the last thing I can do is watch a classmate about to be beaten for no good reason, much less if they are a team member. So now that you know, try not to get yourself into too much trouble?" And with that she left out the door.

And my pride went out the door with her.

* * *

I remember that on that day, it had been raining. Good, because that's what my mood felt like on the way home. Since I was normally quiet, my brothers didn't find anything odd to question me about, though they were worried about the fact that I had gotten punched in the gut, but since they knew that that by itself was embarrassing, they decided to save me some face by not pressuring me to tell them the details. So they just did what they normally did, which was to let me have some time to myself in my room. By now, I was pretty much fed up with school. If only there was a way for me to not have to go. I then remembered that because Shin had punched me in the gut, I didn't have to go to the rest of my classes for the day.

_Maybe I should have him punch me more often. But then again, that did hurt._ It was then at that moment that Ken's voice sounded.

"Yoshi, the rain outside just turned into a thunder storm. Make sure to close your window so that you don't catch a cold." With that said, he left.

Ah, good old Ken, smart as always, and right there when you need him. With that piece of advice having been given, I decided to take it. After dinner and after everyone in the house said their goodnights and I was in my pajamas, I opening the window, got on the roof, and let myself get soaked. If you ask me, it was actually pretty calming. During all those hours of the night that I was outside, letting the rain hit my cloths and skin, I felt as if I could just forget everything that had happened to me in the past few days. I would have liked to stay there till morning, but I couldn't, so somewhere way past midnight, I climbed down, got into bed, and went into deep slumber. Before I drifted away, only one thought went through my mind…

_If I can at least have something to be happy about, please give me a fever._

Up to that point since I started school, it was just that once that I was shown some form of mercy and had my wish granted.

* * *

**Me: So what do you think? I hope you all liked it.**

**Fans: *Are now just pouting***

**Me: Q3Q Oh uh, I know I shouldn't be saying this, but I have two bits of bad news. **

**1) Cursed Child is on temporary hiatus/rewriting until I finish this story since I seem to have a clearer mind for this story than that one. Actually, let me rephrase that. Cursed Child is going to be going through a WHOLE DIFFERENT plot change. After a while, I decided that my original idea was a little too much OOC and so I decided to just make it…a little violent/dramatic, but not murderous. There are still going to be bad villains though and next time the story updates, it will be on the chapter that it should be, so you don't have to worry about impatiently waiting for each chapter to be updated and re-written one by one till it gets to where it was before the whole hiatus started.**

**2) Since I'm going to be a college student, chances are that my stories will probably be updating REALLY slow if not at all during the time that I'm in classes, which will start on August 22-24. But I won't cancel! I shall continue to write. TT^TT As I explained in my profile, if I don't write my fanfiction ideas, then they will continue to haunt me in my daydreams, and this one ESPECIALLY has been haunting me in my daydreams and night dreams too!**

**Q_Q So uh…please don't hate me.**

**Fans: *Have a REALLY dark aura emitting out of them and I swear that I can see an Onii behind them***

**Me: TT_TT I'm hated.**

**Fans: *Are now pulling weapons of unimaginable torture***

**Me: Q_Q EEP! WAIT! TToTT I don't wanna die!**

**Fans: *Stil glaring and murmuring***

**Me: 8'D Umm…I'll just go now, bye! *Runs for life***

**Fans: *Run after while screaming my death song***

**Peace and Out**


	8. Butch's Past, Part 3!

**Hey guys. Sorry it took long to update again. At least this time it didn't take 10 months. Well, first things first. Most of you may realize that this chapter is kind of short. I mean, compared to what I normally update, 7 pages is kind of sad. Well, that's because after much debating, I figured that people would be happier if I updated constant short chapters instead of long chapters that take like a millennium to get online and with college being on the way in like 24 days, this might actually be like my best option. Besides, as I got to the bottom, I once again saw myself getting confused at my writing and decided to just leave it off there.**

**In other news, I forgot to mention in the last chapter the drawing that I had drawn for this story. It isn't the best…actually let me rephrase that…THE COLORING SUCKS! TT_TT Am I colorblind? =_= Either way, it's embarrassing. While I think that it looks downright like some sort of Picasso drawing that some 5 year old drew, at least it fits the story. **

**In better news, to those of you who wished me good luck in my scholarships, I humbly thank you. I actually won quite a fair sum of money. In other words…I'M GOING TO COLLEGE! QAQ I couldn't be happier. Oh wait…yes I could, but that's other stuff.**

**Anyways, enough of my blabbing and lets get on with the story.**

**DISCLAIMER (Oh for the love of god, must I do this EVERY TIME): I DO NOT OWN POWERPUFF GIRLS Z….**

…**And I don't quiet originally own the idea either. The original story was by Marinav92 which was shown as a oneshot called "This Isn't Love" and you can find her story on her profile.**

**Actually, one more thing. I decided after re-checking the name of Marinav92's story that the title that I had given to this prequel/sequel was a little too…too…(someone please insert something here for me). Main point is, I decided to change it to the title that it currently is. That's it. "Mission:Saving Kaoru" is now titled "So What Should Love Be Like?", but it's still the same exact story. I just hope that no one mistook this for something else.**

**Now, we REALLY have to get on with the story. I shall now stop writing my author's comment.**

* * *

"Yoshi, how on earth do you manage to get a fever in the beginnings of Fall?!"

That was Akemi's voice as he was checking my temperature reading on the thermometer. Currently, I was in my bed with a fever of about 105 degrees, not bad for someone who just stood out in the rain for a while. Thankfully, my cloths had dried up enough during the night and whatever was left was either hidden by my blankets or mistaken as sweat. Main point is they didn't know what I had done the day before.

It was then decided by the Professor that I should stay at home (obviously) and so my brothers went to school without me. At that moment, I could only think one thing…_SAFE!_

Except for the fact that I felt as though I was in Death Valley, the week that followed which I spent home sick in bed was actually pretty great. I had TV (along with my recorded wrestling matches) and video games. Best of all, there were no idiots to bother me. Except for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the Professor and Ken mostly left me alone. All in all, I was in peace...

…until the following Monday when I was declared healthy enough to go back to school.

* * *

I should say that going back to school after being absent for a week felt sort of weird.

For one thing, Shin and his gang were no longer bothering me. Actually, let me add to that. They wouldn't even look at me. I noticed that the day I came back, they just took one view in my direction and then broke into sweat as though I was the plague. I guess detention must have been really bad for them. Then again, whatever it was that Kaoru did to them must have also added to their odd behavior. Speaking of which, now that the cat was out of the bag, my relationship with Kaoru had just gotten even more awkward. While Shin and his gang refused to look at me, I refused to look at Kaoru. If before I was just refusing to talk to her, now I was refusing to even acknowledge the fact that she was there! Kaoru on the other hand, continued what she had been doing before I had found out, though she really didn't have to. With the Shin-Problem now taken care of, I was pretty much free to be alone in peace and I still ate lunch with my brothers.

Isn't it funny how one can be happy when they have no friends?

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Time Skip: End of Classes…

Anyways, as quick as it began, that day of school had finally come to a close. Actually feeling quiet satisfied with how my day had gone, I went to go wait for Akemi and Riku. They were not outside yet and as always, I was able to listen in to their conversations. I wonder how things had gone for them during the week that I was not at school. I listened and watched both classrooms at the same time.

0)0)0)0

Akemi was having a conversation with Momoko, while in the other classroom Riku was having a conversation with Miyako. Wait, what! Since when did they become friends?

0)0)0)0

"And then, with his cool gadgets and super strength, he saved the day!" Momoko was saying. Probably about some superhero comic, since it was what she was holding in her hands.

"Yeah, I really loved that chapter. Did you read the one where he joins forces with the alliance of superheroes in order to fight against the evil villain organization?"

"Yes, I got so excited just reading it."

0)0)0)0

"Today's music class was fun desu~wa." Miyako was telling Riku.

"You're piano playing is really good." Riku commented.

"You are also good on the violin desu~wa." Miyako commented back.

0)0)0)0

During this, my chest started hurting again.

0)0)0)0

"Akemi is so cool!" Once again, it seems that the squealing fan-girls had not ceased. "Why does he only pay attention to Momoko?"

"Riku is so cute!" The same thing for Akemi could be said for Riku on his end. "But he and Miyako look so good together. We don't stand a chance." I could also see some guys glaring at him. (Forget about getting assulted by girls, he was now in trouble if being attacked by the guys!)

0)0)0)0

Again, I could feel more pains in my chest and my heart was starting to beat very loud.

0)0)0)0

"Class Rep, are you going home now?" Someone asked. I guess Akemi had managed to become the class representative after all.

"Yeah, my brothers are waiting."

"Eh, Yoshi recovered from his fever?" Momoko asked.

"Yup, he finally came to school today."

0)0)0)0

"Well, I have to go now." Riku told Miyako. "My brothers are probably waiting."

"Yoshi is feeling better now desu~wa?"

0)0)0)0

On both sides, my brothers then finished their conversations and then both Momoko and Miyako left. They didn't really take much notice to me as they went to meet up with Kaoru who was just at the corner of the hall, keeping an eye on me. I sighed and thought angrily: _I really wish that she would just leave me alone._ The images of my brothers getting friendly with their counterparts then went through my mind as I opened my eyes to snap out of it. I looked at the ground, suddenly finding my shoes to be very interesting. _Besides, we don't even like each other, much less get along._

Why was this feeling bothering me so much?

0)0)0)0

On both sides, I could then hear the same question being asked by my brothers' classmates.

"Isn't your brother rude? Why do you hang out with him?"

Was I really a bother to them? The pain in my chest was becoming somewhat unbearable. For some unknown reason, that question alone left me stunned. Suddenly, I broke into a cold sweat as I could hear my heart beat very loud. It was so loud that I though the whole building must have been hearing it. In an effort to make it stop, I decided to just turn my heel and run out of the building. Just run, run till I could run no more, or at least till I was out of the campus.

* * *

Normal POV/What Butch Didn't Know:

In Akemi's Classroom:

"Isn't your brother rude? Why do you hang out with him?"

Akemi heard that and got mad. "How dare you comment on my brother like that without knowing him first!"

This earned some surprise jolts from his classmates.

"Sure he doesn't talk much, but he isn't mean or anything. Have you even tried talking to him?"

With that, Akemi left out the door, only to bump into Riku.

Classmates' thoughts: _Maybe Akemi is right, maybe we shouldn't judge his brother if we don't know him yet._

_0)0)0)0_

In Riku's Classroom:

Riku's reaction was similar, except that his angry-face was more like a cute pouty-face no matter which way one tried to look at it. "Stop it! You don't even know my brother like I do!"

"But I've seen him." Someone commented. "He just stands there looking scary."

"But he's not scary. He's actually really nice. How could you?" Riku now looked like he was going to cry, but instead he left out the door only to bump into Akemi.

Classmate's thoughts: _Oh no! We made Riku almost cry! Maybe we were being too harsh with him._

While their classmates were having a change of heart, Akemi and Riku were feeling the speed of the beating in theirs start to rise a bit when they saw that Yoshi was not in his classroom or in the hall where they were supposed to meet. They were about to start looking frantically around the whole building when suddenly they bumped into Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru who told them that Yoshi had left.

With that being said, they took off to the exit to try to catch up.

* * *

Back to Yoshi's POV:

I had finally stopped running when I saw that I was a couple yards away from the school campus. I then went to catching my breath and started walking home. I wanted to forget what I had heard in both my brothers' classrooms. I didn't want to be compared to them anymore. I hated the feeling that I felt when I heard others doing so. I had probably walked for about 10 minutes when I then heard voices behind me, calling my name.

"Yoshi!" It was Akemi and Riku. I guess those two decided to come running after me. For some unknown reason though, I didn't want to stop walking. I continued on until they were right next to me, trying to catch their breaths as they walked along to my pace.

"Yoshi! Why did you leave without us?" Akemi was questioning.

"We were worried when we found you weren't in your classroom." Riku added.

"Do you have any idea how much we had to run in order to catch up to you?" Akemi then snapped.

I just didn't answer. I guess I had some sort of look in my eye because Akemi starred at me for a bit and was about to ask something else when all of a sudden our compact belts started to beep. Akemi gave me a "This-isn't-over" look and then answered his communication device.

"What is it Professor?"

"Boys, a very strange monster is attacking the city. We have already sent the girls on the way."

"A strange monster?" Riku asked, as he looked at Akemi and raised an eyebrow.

After that, we heard Ken, as he appeared right next to the Professor. "This monster that is attacking the city is very weird. Guys, you're going to have to transform and get to the location while I try to find out more information."

"Kay, we're on our way."

Somewhere in the lab, Peach must have done his call because our belts started emitting energy as my brothers and I transformed from 3 normal school boys to the Rowdyruff Boys z.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It didn't take long for us to reach the location where the so called "weird monster" was attacking, at least that is where we were told that it was supposed to be attacking. At the moment, we didn't even know what it looked like. It was easier to find the Powerpuff Girls z which took practically no time at all. While we were there staring and questioning one another in hopes of new information, we then heard a scream. At that moment, we zoomed into action and well-armed, we went to where the scream was, prepared for a tough fight and then we stopped just in time to see a lady in distress getting attacked by…..

…herself? Well, not necessarily.

She was not attacking herself, she was more or so getting attacked by someone who looked exactly like her. The only difference were the eyes which were yellow and the rather threatening dark aura that was emitting from the doppelganger's body that even gave it a slightly darker skin tone. The lady was necessarily getting attacked either. She was more or less getting taunted.

"**So you never were able to accept your lack of promotion at work, no matter how hard you try."** The doppelganger then snickered. **"And all because your supposed best friend is prettier than you. And people thought you were nice."**

The one who was getting taunted was covering her ears, in an effort to keep the taunts from reaching her. "No…please…stop." The effort wasn't working and she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"**Hmm…you're boring. Not enough misery."**

It was then that the doppelganger changed shape. It shrank till it was merely a ball of darkness with three eyes, a big mouth, and two skinny hands. I guess that was its true form. It then went to another target and which it then changed into (once again, the difference being only the eyes, the skin tone, and the whole outer aura). We were about to go put an end to this when suddenly Blossom's compact belt began to beep. She picked up the receiver and seeing as it was the Professor, the rest of us then crowed around her to see what he had to say.

"Girls, we've found information on the monster that is attacking the city." The Professor said. Great, maybe he could clear up what we just saw a while ago. "The monster you found is called a 'Shadow Soul'."

Ah geez, of all the lame names out there. The screen then switched to Ken as he gave us some more details.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Apparently, the so-called "Shadow Soul" was a creature that liked to eat people, but not just any kind of people. For some unknown reason, it had this sick desire to eat people who were at most miserable. And by 'miserable' I mean REALLY miserable. For example, just having your pet dog die wasn't going to cut it, unless of you were some sort of person who had a tough past of abuse and ended up with no life where the only friend and family was the said dog. Get it? It needed to be deep misery to the near point of dangerous self-inflicting activities, homicide, or suicide. Normally, the Shadow Soul would try to locate a random person who they would then transform into, except for of course the dark surrounding details of the copy-cat body. Afterwards, it would use some sort of telepathic powers to read the victim's mind and memory of their deepest troubles. With this, the Shadow Soul would then taunt the person to the point of near insanity, just to try to get a little sickening extra flavor because honestly, who on earth would want to admit to other people what they were really feeling? Most of the time though, the Shadow Soul would just get bored and would then find someone else to taunt until it found the "perfect taste", in other words, thankfully no one in Tokyo City who was miserable enough had been found yet so there was no case of someone being eaten by a small ball of black puff.

Afterwards we found out the way to defeat it. The Shadow Soul could be inflicted physical pain upon while in its transformed form. When the temporary body was weakened enough, it would transform back to the actual original form. Miyako's bubbles could then be used to trap the weakened creature and have it utterly destroyed, once and for all.

The problem was, the only one who could be able to try to inflict damage was the person who the Shadow would transform into, mainly speaking, we had to make ourselves bait. With the level taunting that thing could do, this would actually prove harder to be done then was said.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

After we had received the information and had the idea of what had to be done, we prepared to make ourselves noticeable to the creature.

First we had to get the creature away and past the outskirts of Tokyo. This didn't even take much work. All we had to do was to have Blossom and Brick say their punch lines with "Stop right there" and the creature took one look at us, licked its lips, and quickly followed us as we made a break for the uncivilized part of the area. I guess the creature had a thing for superhuman misery.

Once we were out of the city and into the higher parts of the sky that was then where things went completely wrong.

For the group, for the creature, and mostly…for me.

* * *

**And done! **

**D8 I'm sorry if this counts as a cliffhanger. By the way, I decided to add some Normal POV's because I felt that it was necessary in order to fill some of the gaps in the story. I mean, this whole thing might be in Butch's POV, but it is kind of limited.**

**Anyways, time to answer some reviews! Yay!**

DEVIlishAngel00:** ^^; That'll come soon enough (well, not really), but it WILL show. And trust me, after Butch is through with Ace…oh god I don't even want to spoil what THAT'S gonna look like. Let's just say that it won't be pretty and if emotions could kill/curse, Butch would have been sending Ace to the most bottomless pit of hell countless times for all infinity. Actually, I do wonder if you read the original story. If it's not death, you can just imagine how Butch will end it.**

AlexaRainForest:** Well, I figured that if Kaoru has girl fans which annoyed her than Butch who is her counterpart might as well be the opposite. I mean, come on! He looked more girlier than Buttercup in her custom! Though I figure it's kind of worse for guys? I mean, I tomboyish girl is kind of seen as cool among girls, but a feminine boy among guys…hmmm…I wonder. 8D Of course, that's for guys. I'm a girl and personally I think that guys that are short, cute, have no muscles, no chest hair, or/and have some feminine qualities or do feminine things are kind of attractive. O/w/O But would have actually been my type in this story and so would have Boomer. O_O Actually, I described this kind of guy to a perverted friend of mine, and she said that that's the kind of guy that is rape-able. Now I am worried about my own mental sanity so it is wise that I stop talking!**

THE POWERPUFF:** I'm happy that I got a scholarship and a grant too. ^w^ Thanks for the support. I'm happy to see that you're still reading even after 10 long months of non-updation. =w= I sometimes looks back and read the names of the people who just don't review anymore. Anyways, I'm glad to see that you're still enjoying that story. Thank you for still being with me this long.**

Guest:** YESH! This story, mark my words, one way or another, it SHALL be finished! No matter how long it takes, I am looking forward to the day that I mark this as 'completed' once and for all! Unless of course, I decide to write some side-stories about this fanfic afterwards. Which I might actually end up doing.**

**Anyways, please review.**

**Peace and Out.**


	9. Butch's Past, Part 4!

**Yo everyone! I must say, I'm actually quite proud of myself for once. It's been a little over a week since I last updated which is good, considering how my last update was within a month of its previous. That being said, I am finally beginning to see that updating short chapters is better than updating long ones as long as it's frequent. As I said last chapter, this might end up being my only option on writing this fanfic, especially since I have my first day of college coming in 15 days. TAT Where has my carefree youth gone?**

**Anyways, please enjoy this chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POWERPUFF GIRLS Z!**

* * *

When I stopped flying, I turned around to look at the monster. For some reason or another, the whole group had scattered in the sky and I was the one who was the farthest ahead. We then stayed, floating there, as the creature drew closer and closer. We had to be patience and wait while preparing ourselves mentally and physically for whatever taunt or worst memory was about to be thrown at us. First, the creature turned into Blossom and once that happened, we knew that it was a game start.

Blossom stood with a fighting face. I was certain that she didn't have any problems. Actually, to be honest, I was more of hoping that she didn't have problems. For some reason, I had this bad premonition that was saying that I DID NOT want that thing to get to me.

Even though we couldn't hear it, we could at least make out part of what it was saying.

**"They always say it don't they? You're not good enough, you're not good enough****. Don't you wish they could just shut up?"**

Blossom's face dropped as she then froze. All of a sudden Blossom looked like she couldn't attack even if she wanted to. The doppelganger smirked.

It then leaned closer and whispered something else close into Blossom's ear. Whatever it was that had been said, it made Blossom look like she was ready to fall at any moment with just one push.

"**This is easy."** Then that smirk turned into a frown. **"Too easy."** Finally it slapped Blossom to the ground.

"BLOSSOM!" I heard Brick yell. He was ready to go dive in after her, but all of a sudden, the Shadow Soul morphed from Blossom into Brick and quickly stood in his way.

Brick halted but thankfully, Blossom had managed at the last moment to put herself back in the air just before hitting the ground.

Now it was a fight between the real and the fake Brick. Brick gave his copy a fierce expression but behind it, I could tell that he was actually nervous.

"**Isn't it straining?" **

Brick's eyes widen like he just didn't believe what he had just heard**. **"What are you talking about? What's straining?" He countered, somehow managing to find his voice. He actually did a good attempt at hitting the creature. Please note the word: ATTEMPT.

The fake Brick managed to dodge before smirking and saying. **"Oh, you know what I'm talking about. Everyone is the same with you aren't they? You can't even get close to the one you love can't you? Isn't it annoying being like that all the time? I mean, what exactly do they even want from you?"**

_What exactly was that thing talking about? _

I didn't have much time to think about it because all of a sudden the creature grabbed Brick and threw him towards a tree before morphing again and this time into Bubbles.

Bubbles did try to put a tough face, but it was easily breaking.

"**Oh, if it isn't miss pretty. But what does it matter if you're pretty? It doesn't matter anymore does it? After all, he never returned your feelings even though you loved him for 10 years."**

"N-No, that's not…" Bubbles had tried to counter, but she was never allowed to finish.

"**Why should you even try to look cute anymore? Doesn't it no longer matter?"**

"That-That's not true!"

Now she looked like she was about to cry.

The doppelganger was defiantly not enjoying this. **"Damn, you're more boring than the last one."** It then grabbed one of her ponytails and pulled hard as Bubbles squeaked and was thrown behind.

Quickly, it was then Boomer's turn. He didn't even try to put up a tough face. After seeing the others, he was looking like a mouse that had been cornered by a cat.

"**Come now. I haven't even started! Do you not want me to revel you're little taint behind your so-called innocence?"**

Boomer's eyes widened. "No! Wait, please!"

"**Isn't it just frustrating? Tell me little boy, how does it feel to have to choose so much between right and wrong. When you're mind knows the right thing to do, but your heart wishes so much for the opposite?"**

"It isn't like that!" Boomer was yelling.

"**Oh really? Not only do you wish to not be so dependent, but don't you also wish that a certain someone didn't exist?"**  
"I don't! Stop!" Boomer tried to push his copy, but the copy just moved to one side and before he could react, gave Boomer an uppercut that sent him flying in Bubbles direction. Thankfully, she managed to catch him.

All this time, I was watching, wondering what the hell was happening.

The creature then turned into Buttercup. Buttercup was actually putting up a good stance. Actually, she seemed more determined than anyone to beat the crap out of this thing. Unfortunately, the fake Buttercup didn't even flinch.

"**Hmmm? Ah, so you're the supposed tough one?"**

"Yeah, what about it!?" Buttercup countered, actually aiming a kick. The creature managed to dodge though.

"**Interesting, you seem to be really into this fight. You must really not want me to talk about your inner secrets do you?"**

"Shut up." Buttercup said, as she aimed for a swing of her hammer, only to fail again.

The creature then sighed, but with a smirk like it was enjoying itself as it leaned closer to Buttercup. **"But I wonder if it is really your own secrets you're protecting? Or is it somebody else's?"**

At this, Buttercup seemed to have lost all determination for a moment as her face fell, but she then regained herself, though not as well as she would have liked. "Don't mess with me!" She attempted another swing, but the copy dodged this one easier than the last one.

"**Come now, why don't you just let yourself in the clear? Though I can understand your hesitation. Normally a girl is supposed to be protected, but how can you even consider yourself as one by this point? Yet even so, you still have a shy maiden's heart don't you? Especially when it's so obvious that he probably hates you."**

"Stop!" Buttercup couldn't even swing at this point.

The creature got closer and whispered something that I couldn't catch, then it gave Buttercup a good kick in the back. As she did a flip in mid-air to regain her balance, the fake Buttercup was looking around rather angry.

"**All of you are so boring. It's all love, love, love, love, and more love. It makes me sick! I guess heroes aren't as tasty as I thought. Isn't there an actual miserable person in this place?"**

It then seemed to have remembered that I was behind it, because it then transformed as it turned around to face me. I could then see it as it licked it lips. At that moment, all I could think was…_Shit._

* * *

It was looking at me and all of a sudden I could just see that this was all going to end badly. To make matters worse, everyone was for some reason had already managed to recover. I was seriously panicking. I had thought that the others were going to be able to take care of this thing. I didn't even realize that they had problems. Even then, I didn't expect the Shadow Soul to go this far, especially when the others…

"**The others don't seem to even compare to you do they?"** The fake me had somehow managed to finish my thought and all of a sudden I grew scared. I tried to back away. I had to get away from this thing, but it quickly got behind me. I didn't turn around, I was afraid of turning around to look at it.

"**You're life is just full of sorrows isn't it?**" It said as it circled around me. I looked around at the rest of the group, somehow pleading for help. I should have known that the Professor had forgotten to tell us something because the moment the rest of the gang tried to move in to do something, tentacles came out of my copy's back that grabbed them all and coiled till they could no longer move.

"**Don't think about them, they won't interfere. You're on your own, just like you always were, are, and will. You started as nothing and were born from nothing that was living. Will you be nothing when you die too?"**

_What the…what was this thing talking about?_

"**You grew up looking at the back of others didn't you? You had brothers, but you never quite socialized and even now the gap between you and them has gotten worse hasn't it?"**

_Wait, how far in my life did it know about?_

"**Heh heh heh, my dear boy, I know EVERYTHING. You don't even have to say anything, though ****you hardly talk do you? Of course, it is because of this that you're lonely. Why don't you be more like your brothers?" **My eyes quickly widened at this. _No, please, they can't be listening to this. _The monster chuckled.** "Oops, ha ha, that's a heavy topic for you isn't it? Isn't it frustrating though, being compared to them so much? Makes you hate them doesn't it?"**

I wanted to deny this. I didn't hate my brothers, not necessarily. Who on earth was I kidding? Somewhere deep deep inside, I knew that was my copy was saying was actually true. That feeling that I had felt whenever people compared me to them...it was jealousy.

"**You hate them even more for deciding to make you turn over a new leaf don't you? To be expecting good things to happen only to be treated badly by everyone. Why on earth should you protect a city that you hate? Isn't it just easier to go back to being a bad boy?"**

_Please, please tell me they aren't listening to this._ I didn't even dare to look over at their faces at this point. The creature wasn't even done yet, it leaned closer and was practically talking loudly and happily.

"**Yes, wouldn't it be good if this whole city just disappeared. Or even better yet, wouldn't it be better if you just didn't exist? You've already had a taste of not existing haven't you?"**

_Oh god no! Please don't tell me it was going to…_

"**That fever that you so much wished for when you purposely let yourself get secretly soaked in the rain. It felt great didn't it? Why don't you just do yourself a favor and make plans to end it once and for all."**

_No, please no. Stop, stop it. _But it didn't stop, it just kept on chatting. It kept spilling everything. Everything that had bothered me until now. How I envied my brothers because I didn't get along well with my own counterpart. How I wanted to believe that I was strong, but without my powers I was nothing but a mere weak human. How people kept teasing me about the fact that I looked feminine. How I couldn't socialize. How I felt when I found that Kaoru had been secretly looking after me from bullies. How I couldn't stand myself. And even worse yet, how I had worked so hard to try to convince myself that I was actually happy being lonely. How pitiful I was to force myself to prefer being alone when I clearly wanted friends. How stupid I was for even trying to bottle up my emotions. The more it continued to talk, the more I felt darkness swirl around me and the more I desired it to stop.

_Stop it. _Before I knew it, I was about to do an un-Butch thing.

"Stop it." It started quiet, but still managed to take everyone by surprise, including the monster in front of me.

"Stop It!" It grew a bit louder and finally…

"STOOOOP IT!" Never in my life would I have imagined that I would actually scream so hard. I quickly dove in and pushed my fake copy down to the ground. Then, before I knew it, everything went black.

* * *

...

* * *

I felt myself waking up and wobbling. It was as though I had been asleep while standing.

"Uh, what happened?" I mumbled.

As my vision cleared I looked in front of me unknowing about the horror that I was about to see. There in front of me, was my copy. The fake Butch, but it was so mingled and bloodied. It practically looked dead.

My eyes widened as I gave a quick yelp, unable to grasp well what I was seeing. I then looked at my hands and realized that they were full of blood. _D-Did, did I do this?_

I looked in front of me and saw the others. Bubbles and Blossom were practically trembling in fear. Brick and Buttercup were giving me "WTF" looks as if they couldn't believe that I actually didn't remember what I had done while I was supposedly passed out. Yet, the worst one was Boomer. His voice was trembling a little as he opened his mouth and looked at me.

"Why? Why Butch? Why, why didn't you ever tell us?"

All of a sudden, it felt as if someone had just stabbed me 100 times over in the most painful of places and before anyone could react to anything, I was up in the sky and flying fast. I had to get away. I just had to get away from there. Any place but there!

* * *

Normal POV:

"BUTCH!" Boomer yelled, but Butch had already flown at a distance where he couldn't be heard.

"Come on, we have to go after him!" Brick said, as he prepared for flight.

"Stop!" The brothers turned around stunned at the command and even more so when they saw that it was Buttercup who had said it.

"He'll probably fly away even faster if he sees you two following him."

"We can't just leave him there and let him get away!" Boomer yelled.

"Don't worry, out belts have trackers on them. It doesn't matter where he goes, we'll still be able to find him." Buttercup said calmly. "Anyways, I'm just saying that at the moment, it doesn't look like he'll be willing to quietly come home."

"Then what are you saying we do? Let him take a long journey across the globe!?" Brick snapped angrily.

"What are you suggesting desu~wa?" Bubbles asked.

"Yeah Buttercup, what are you suggesting?" Blossom also wondered.

"What I'm saying is how about I go and find him? Look, I'll bring him over to my place where he can stay a few days and let him cool off there. Then I'll send him back home. But you all might have to leave him alone for a while." She then turned to Brick. "Is that ok with you?"

Brick hesitated, but agreed anyways. "Well I guess, but make sure that he's ok!"

"Yes, please, what the Shadow Soul said is worrying me." Boomer said, looking down.

They then looked at each other and suddenly remembered that there was a mangled body behind them. Thankfully it was still weakened as it transformed back into a ball of shadow which Bubbles later caught with her bubble wand.

Even now, none of them could believe that Butch couldn't remember the gruesome battle that had happened to make the creature get to this state. The whole time, Butch's eyes had been clouded; as though he had lost himself while he had proceeded to angrily beat the fake Butch to a bloody pulp.

The mission being done, Buttercup took off the device on her belt and flipped it open as she pushed a few buttons and then revealed a screen on the map that had two blue dots, two red dots, and one green dot in one place while there was a lone green dot moving in another area.

"Good luck." Blossom said as Buttercup prepared to take off flying.

"Thanks."

The green powerpuff then took up to the sky and looked at Brick, who nodded before she flew off after her counterpart.

* * *

**And that is another closing to another chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. At this point, I am certain that I will be writing a few side-stories to thsi fanfic. Mostly about MomokoxBrick and MiyakoxBoomer. Personally, I don't know when the next chapter will come out since the details are a little hazy, but I'll try my best not to take too long. Like I did last time…and the time before…**

**Moving on! Time to answer reviews, which may I add is my favorite thing to do here. Many thanks to all my readers who write them. They are what motivate me to keep on going! 8D**

**Bu-Bu-Buttercup: n_n Thank You. I am happy that you enjoy it so much.**

**AlexaRainForest: OwO Well, now you saw what happened. At least he didn't get eaten. I'm actually pretty excited about the next chapter.**

**KB101: Considering your reaction, I'm wondering if you read the original story. XD You should have seen my reaction when I read it. It was really similar which is what led me to writing this.**

**DEVIlishAngel00: Do not worry. Things will get better for him after this flashback. :D Kaoru will take care of it!**

**Once again, thank you for the reviews. You would not believe how happy I get when I read them.**

**Until next time. Peace and Out**


	10. Butch's Past, Part 5!

**Hi guys. I must say, I'm quite surprised at how fast my updates have been going. Makes me think that I should have been doing short chapters a LONG TIME AGO. Oh well, better later than never. My only worry is that this flashback is getting to have TOO MANY PARTS. I hope that no one is bothered by that. Anyways, this is the new chapter. Please read, enjoy, and a review would be nice.**

**Oh, and on August 10 was my birthday. I am now 18 years old. O_o It actually feels weird being a legal adult now. QAQ I still feel like I'm 15 years. Why must time fly by so fast?**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POWERPUFF GIRLS Z!**

* * *

I honestly do not know for how long I flew. All I did know was that for one reason or another, I had decided to fly into a mountain that was probably quiet a long distance, at least 85 or so miles from the outskirts of Tokyo** (AN: Proves why flying is so convenient)**. I then chose a spot that was actually a giant tree that had its trunk the radius of a house. That looked like a nice place as any to crash. I was tired of flying and I needed some place to just think about what I was going to do.

As I sat down, I found myself unconsciously getting into a fetal position **(AN: Hugging knees, front face on knees, etc.)**. I guess I was still shaken by what had happened. Really, what was I going to do? I couldn't go back home, not now that my brothers knew everything that I had felt. Chances were that if I went back to the Professor's lab, I was going to get bombarded with questions that I wouldn't be able to find a quick answer to. Also, I didn't want Brick and Boomer to think that changing our ways was a mistake. Seeing how they were getting along, they were happy for the change in pace. I didn't want them to worry about me in that form. I then pulled myself tighter. I REALLY did NOT want to go back to Tokyo. Even if I didn't go back home, I was bound to have to face them. Maybe it would be better if I just left all together. I'm sure I could find a way to live by myself in another city. I've heard that Osaka was nice…

"Hey, how long are you planning to mope?"

I quickly flinched and for a short moment it felt as if I was having a hard time breathing. I looked to my right and saw that it was Buttercup.

_What the hell is SHE doing here? _I then took a moment to glare at her and returned back to whatever I had been doing while pretending that she wasn't there. _Yeah, maybe I should just run away quickly while I still can._

"I don't think running away to some far off city like Osaka or something would be a good idea here."

_WTF!? How did she know what I was thinking? _I quickly turned to my right again to look at my counterpart, only this time in surprise.

She just took a glace in my direction as she said, "You know you're quiet easy to read."

My surprise then turned into anger. _Oh gee, thanks. At least this way, I don't have to necessarily talk to you._

"But please don't take this as an excuse to not talk."

_I seriously wish she'd stop that._

"Of course, you should try to be more like your brothers…"

At the mention of that, my eyes quickly widened and before I knew it, I had sprung up to my feet. "SHUT UP!" I flinched a little as I put a hand to my neck. Damn my throat hurt. I had never yelled so much in my life.

Buttercup then blinked at me. "Ah, so you can talk after all."

Now it was my turn to blink._ Wait…was she just baiting me. _I then turned to look at my left. _That's just great._ Please note the sarcasm.

"Be mad at me if you want, but if you have something to say, then SAY IT!" She practically yelled that last part in front of my face, but for some unknown reason, I found myself looking to one side as my mouth started to move.

"W-What are you doing here?" I managed to say.

"Your brothers didn't want you to go too far, so they sent me here to bring you back." She answered.

"There is no way that I am going back home." I mumbled.

"Hmm? What was that?"

I glared. _Damn, I hate this woman._ But I managed to say it again. "I SAID that I am NOT going back HOME."

Buttercup looked at me and smiled in triumph. "Much better!"

I was so not enjoying this.

"And I'm not here to take you back to the Professor's lab."

I blinked. _Say what?_

"Yeah, I got permission from your brothers." She continued. "You're staying over at my place for the next few days until you feel better."

I really did not understand this girl. _What actually makes her think that I will be happy to live at her house if I still have to live in the same city?_

"Look, I don't really care if you hate the city, but I'm trying to give you a choice here. You either come stay at my place OR I call the others and we drag you to the Professor's lab where you will surely be questioned by your brothers."

My eyes widened at the second option. I stared Buttercup as she smirked. "You're choice. Anyways, it's getting late and my folks are gonna worry, so I'm heading back home. It's your problem whether or not you want to follow me."

As she turned around and got in the air, I gave myself a moment's thought.

I defiantly did NOT want to go back to Tokyo and live under the same roof as HER. We didn't even get along and I didn't need people to pity me. But then again, it was either this or the latter, and I really did not want the latter. If my brothers were ok with it, then I guess I should give it a try.

With that, I took to the air and flew right after Buttercup, before she got too far away. In the late sunset orange background, I followed, nervously unsure of what this decision would lead me to.

* * *

"DAD! Kaoru brought home a BOY!"

Somewhere in the distance of the apartment, a scream followed by stomping was heard.

I twitched. _How the hell did I wind up in this mess_? The moment Kaoru's mom answered the door, a little brat that looked a lot like Kaoru showed up, opened his mouth, and now it sounded like Godzilla was after me. What was this whole family plotting?

As the stomps got closer, I was wondering how I was going to convince Kaoru's dad not to kill me. For all I knew, this guy could have been an ex. boss of some sort of gang. Actually, I wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case. That was a good summary of my thoughts until I saw who it was.

"What do want with my daughter?" said a threatening voice.

All I did was stare…

And stare…

Rub my eyes…

Then stare some more to make sure that I was seeing right.

After a few moments, something finally clicked in my mind that this wasn't a dream. It was then that the usual Yoshi flew right out the window as my eyes grew wide with sparkles and my mouth went big.

"You…You're the famous wrestler Tokio-sama!" I said, as I pointed. Tokio's face changed as he looked at me in confusion.

I then looked at Kaoru. "This is your dad!?"

Kaoru answered. "Yeah, can't you tell?"

I then looked back at Tokio and then remembered that I had to introduce myself as I bowed. "My name is Yoshi Kitazawa! Pleased to meet you!" I then smiled wide and put my hands together in a state of fandom that would have put Momoko to shame. "I am your BIGGEST FAN! Can I please have your autograph!?" I continued, as I remembered that I had paper in my backpack.

Tokio blinked and then gave a big smile as he rubbed the back of his head with one hand and proceeded to pat mine with his other. It was then that I made an important decision… _I'm never going to wash my hair again!_

"He he, Kaoru, you chose a great man!"

"Dad, it's not like that." I heard Kaoru complain. At the moment, I was too happy to even pay attention to anything around me much less care to what was just implied.

* * *

Normal POV while Yoshi was on Cloud 9:

Dai, who had arrived in time to see the whole thing, got close and whispered into Kaoru's ear. "Hey, Kaoru, is that guy always like this?"

"No, actually, he's normally the opposite."

"Huh?"

"I didn't expect he'd be a huge fan of dad though."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Dai, don't make me kill you." Kaoru threatened, as she tightened her fist.

"OK! I get it!" Dai apologized. "So is he your best friend or something?"

"Hardly, he's just a classmate."

"Then I don't get it. If he isn't your boyfriend, didn't know about dad, and is just your classmate, then what IS he doing here?"

"I'll talk about that at dinner." Kaoru sighed as she continued to sweat drop at the sight of Yoshi going fan crazy over the family Pro Wrestler. _We have a LONG way to go. _**(AN: That was Kaoru's thoughts.)**

* * *

Back to Yoshi's POV:

At the Dinner table…

"And that's why he's going to be staying with us for a few days." Kaoru finished her long explanation.

On the inside, I was currently grumbling. Did she have to tell them almost everything? All she left out was the fact that I was a Rowdyruff Boy, the rain-fever incident, and the Shadow Soul. After that, she had to make up something to fill in those parts, like me and my brothers being orphans and such.

"Well, I can see why he wouldn't want to go back home." Tokio said.

"I wouldn't want to go to school if I was treated like that." Shou commented.

"That's tough." added Dai.

"You poor dear, to be an orphan and then to go through so much." That was Kaoru's Mom. If it wasn't for the fact that she had a soft motherly atmosphere to her, I would have glared since I hated that line of pity.

Since I didn't have the heart to do it, all I could manage was to blush in embarrassment as I looked to the down side of my meal.

"So, can he stay then?" Kaoru asked.

"Of course, he can stay for as long as he wants until he is ready to go home." Mrs. Matsubara answered cheerfully.

_Isn't she bothered by the fact that this is practically free loading?_

"Don't you worry Yoshi-kun. This isn't any trouble at all." Kaoru's mom said, as she smiled at me.

"But if you are still worried about free-loading, then you can help around with the chores if that'll make you feel better." Dai said, while grinning.

I looked at them. _What just happened? Am I really that easy to read?!_

"Great! I'll go call Yoshi's place right now and have it settled." Kaoru said as she left the table to get to the telephone.

While she was gone, I looked at the rest of the Mastubara family, suddenly feeling very nervous.

_What on Earth was I thinking?_ I began to panic. _This is way beyond my comfort zone!_ I then tried looking at them, only to see that they were starring back, which made me quickly look away. Of course, I tried making it look cool, which I had a feeling that I was failing.

"So Yoshi, please tell us about yourself." Mrs. Matsubara said, trying to break the tension that she probably knew I was feeling.

_Tell them about myself? W-What am I supposed to say?_ I quickly thought, suddenly feeling the tension in me rise higher.

"You know. Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future, that kind of stuff." Shou said, answering my mental question.

_What? Well, I already made clear what I like._ I thought, actually quiet embarrassed by my earlier behavior. _And I really don't want to talk about my dislikes. _I then started feeling depressed._ I don't think that I have any sort of hobbies._ That depression was now getting worse. _Dreams for the future? I never really thought about it. _By that time, my mood was in full gloom.

And then the table got really quiet, so I had to try to say something. "Um…I…I…"

"I GOT IT!" I jumped a bit and then I looked over to see that it was Dai who had just shouted. He then pointed at me.

"Yoshi, you have ZERO CONFIDENCE!" He yelled with a wide smile.

At that moment, I could feel a big knife stab me in the forehead. I swear blood was spurting out.

"DAI!" Mrs. Matsubara scolded. "That is not something you say out loud!"

"No, mom don't you get it!?" Dai was pretty much unfazed by his mom's disapproval. "This decides it!"

_Decides what? _I could see that I wasn't the only one who was thinking this.

"What decides it?" That was Kaoru. Apparently she had finished her call.

Dai was grinning. "Kaoru! You, Shou, and I are going to train this guy in the art of how to be a man!"

_WHAT THE HELL!?_

"HUH!?" That was everyone else's reaction.

"Don't you see? It's perfect!" Dai continued. "The reason Yoshi gets bullied so much is because he is NOT MANLY…" At this moment another knife struck me in the right side of the chest. "…that and he's got NO SOCIAL SKILLS…" another stab "…he's also SHY, which adds to the fact that he is QUIET, and that just adds to his FEMINIE APPEARANCE." Stab, stab, stab…and against my wishes, I unconsciously toppled the chair which led me to falling back on the carpet.

"Yoshi, are you ok!?" I then saw Kaoru's mom rush over to me.

"Good job, you hit his weak spots bro." Shou commented.

"WAIT! Let me finish!" Dai said, as he realized that this could lead to months of groundation. "What I mean is, we can train you! If we help you, then the bullying will stop and you won't be a LONER anymore."

That last bit made me keep my head on the ground.

"And after that problem is solved and we finish teaching you what we know, then you can join us when we train with dad. He wouldn't mind, right dad?" Dai then looked at his dad before continuing. "Who knows, maybe someday you could become like him."

At the mention of that, I felt myself quickly rising back to the table as I looked at Tokio.

"Train? With TOKIO-SAMA!?" My eyes were probably sparkling again as I looked at my hero in awe.

"I'd be happy to help a fan in need." The wrestler said.  
"So is it a yes?" Dai asked.

I nodded.

"Great! We'll start the day after tomorrow."

"Speaking of which, the Professor agreed with the arrangement, so all we have to do is to go there tomorrow in order to bring your stuff over here so that you can temporarily settle." As Kaoru said that, my sky-high happy mood quickly took a 180 for rock bottom.

I quickly looked at her with a very dark and heavy background, begging for her to tell me that she was joking about the second bit. I DID NOT want to go to the professor's house. What if I accidentally ran into Brick and Boomer?

"Don't worry, I already told them about how you were feeling, so they promised to be in different rooms until we get out." Kaoru assured me.

My panic then subsided, but I was still a little nervous.

"We'll be going there after school, so stay in the classroom and wait for me until I say that it's time to go."

I nodded again.

"Yoshi, maybe while you're here, you can teach Kaoru how to be a little more lady-like?" Mrs. Matsubara said, as she tried to lighten the mood.

"MOM!" Kaoru yelled, blushing madly. She must have hated the mere thought of becoming girly.

"Don't you agree honey?"

Tokio stopped eating and looked at me. "Kaoru, he is a very decent man. I suggest you learn from him." He nodded while smiling. "And who knows, maybe someday he could become a member of the family. I wouldn't mind at all if that were the case."

_WAIT, WHAT!?_

"WHAT!? Dad, not you too!" Kaoru was completely losing her cool.

Shou and Dai were laughing hard. "Kaoru becoming girly and getting a new boyfriend to boot?" Dai said in between fits.

"Yeah, that'll be the day!" Shou agreed.

"You guys…" Kaoru threatened, as she looked ready to kill her brothers.

"Kaoru, Dai, and Shou, settle down during dinner!"

"Yes mom."

During all this, I sat there and watched wondering why my heart felt very light all of a sudden. Despite the fact that the whole conversation had just taken a very awkward turn, I still couldn't help but close my eyes and think…

_You know, this feeling isn't half-bad._

* * *

"Hey! He just smiled!" Shou exclaimed as he pointed at me. My eyes quickly opened. **(AN: LOL, way to ruin the mood.)**

_Huh? _I hadn't even noticed that I had smiled. And I don't mean a happy-crazy-fan smile, I mean a genuine smile.

"He did what?" Kaoru apparently didn't believe that a genuine smile coming from me was even possible.

"And it was a lovely smile." Mrs. Matsubara commented.

"Young man, you should try to smile more often." added Tokio.

"Do it again!" Shou said, leaning further across the table at me.

"Yeah, do it again!" Dai followed.

I looked at them, suddenly feeling my cheeks growing hot as I wondered how I was going to pass by this predicament. _Maybe it would have been a better idea if I had stayed on the mountain._

* * *

**Yay! Another chapter done! By the way, Yoshi's smile was out of his feelings of relief, safety, and happiness…so things are starting to actually look bright for him.**

**Another thing that I feel that I should add is that while writing this chapter, I remembered that I had forgotten to mention that since they were practically adopted by the Professor, the Rowdyruff Boys z now have their last name as "Kitazawa", which is also Ken's last name. So Ken just got three new older brothers. That is one big extended family.**

**Now to answer reviews again…**

**DEVIlishAngel00: Q_Q I didn''t wish this to be so OOC, but unintentionally I kind of did. Yeah, I kind of over-pushed Butch in the last chapter. =w= But I couldn't help myself. I love these kinds of characters and I figured that it was a necessity to the plot. I had to get his feelings out of the bag one way or another and this is what eventually popped up. Though I do believe that I made him a little way to happy in this chapter. Ha ha. *sweat drops***

**AlexaRainForest: nwn I'm happy to know that you like the story. Actually, the idea with the monster came from a mixture of Penelope Spectra from Danny Phantom and a game called "Persona 4". There's actually an anime on it too. I suggest you watch it as it is really good. XD As you should be able to guess, I've been watching WAY TOO MUCH of both. And I needed some way to drive Butch into a corner that Kaoru would have to pull him out from.**

**Bu-bu-Buttercup: 8D Once again, I am really happy that you like the chapter. uwu I am actually quite proud of myself for updating quickly. ^^; As I mentioned before, I had an issue where I didn't update for 2 years and then I didn't update for 10 months. I was honestly worried about myself. I wouldn't have been surprised if some readers planned to butcher me. (Or if I lost viewers along with reviews).**

**So that is all. Until the next time that I update, please allow me to enjoy reading your reviews.**

**Peace and Out.**


	11. Butch's Past, Part 6!

**HI GUYS!**

***Authoress is suddenly apprehended by the fanfiction police***

**Me: D8 HEY WAIT! What is going on!?**

**Police: You are being put under arrest.**

**Me: Arrest? For what crime!?**

**Police: For not updating your fanfic fast enough and breaking your promise to update faster.**

**Me: B-But..**

**Police: No buts. You have the right to remain silent.**

**Me: TT_TT**

***Later in interrogation room***

**Me: *Looking at the dark room with the shinning bulb at me* Wow, never thought I'd find myself here.**

**Police: Silence. You shall answer only what we ask you.**

**Me: Ok…ask away.**

**Police: Don't give me that attitude!**

**Me: =_=**

**Police: So, where were you these past few months since your last updation?**

**Me: If you must know, I've been in college which started sometime in late August. I am sorry that I haven't updated in a few months, but I had to go to class and do homework and get used to a lot of other things. Heck, it was only until last week that I finally got along with the pace of things and for the moment I have hardly any homework, though I am planning on one day getting a part time job, so I don't know if things will remain this way. Also, I have a writing contest at school that I want to enter and therefore, I really don't know when I'll be able to update next time.**

**Police: Doesn't change the fact that you still took two weeks to update since you got the pace of things. Your excuse? Don't tell us that it's writer's block again.**

**Me: Bu Trust me, I'm not. I was actually looking through all my previous chapters in this story, and found some of the things that I had written to not be adding up the way that I wanted it to be to this chapter and future ones. Also, while reading, I found a lot of things that I wrote to be embarrassing. For one, I found it very surprising, as well as shocking, that when I was first introducing the 6 main characters in the story at chapter 1, that I apparently had no fashion sense whatsoever 4 years ago. So I changed their outfits into more mature ones. Also, I changed Kaoru's dating outfit. I also changed some of the chapters's orders and added some stuff here in there. And I must add that I was doing all this while still keeping up with homework. So in a way, I find this to be a good enough apology present. In fact, I would advise that before you read this chapter, YOU MUST READ ALL THE OTHER ONES in order to CATCH SOME OF THE CHANGES. I can't guarantee that every chapter has a change (I think I only changed a word on one of them), but other than that, most of the other's at least have something added to them. So please do read that, or this story could start sounding like it isn't making any sense.**

**Police: …**

**Me: So any other questions?**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Police: Do you own Powerpuff Girls z?**

**Me: *sighs* I DO NOT OWN POWERPUFF GIRLS Z! I WISH I DID, trust me, I REALLY do. If I did own it, I would have had a lot of other things going on there and I wouldn't have dared to have ended the series where it did (both the anime and manga). Also, I must add that if I did own it, not only would I not be going to college because I would be having an awesome career, but I would also not have had a reason to be writing fanfiction.**

**Police: …**

**Me: Anything else?**

**Police: You still have to do some time.**

**Me: How much exactly?**

**Police: The time that it took you to update this.**

**Me: What the *Beep*. Isn't that like 5 months?!**

**Police: Don't be ridiculous!**

**Me: Really?**

**Police: Yeah, it's actually 5 months AND 18 DAYS.**

**Me: Bu Really cop, really?**

**Police: Yes, now do you have anything else to say before we march you to the fanfiction jailhouse?**

**Me: *To readers* 8u Please enjoy this chapter while I'm trying to sort this out.**

* * *

A 12-year old version of me was running around with a 12-year old version of Brick and Boomer, playing sky tag.

"Come try and catch me losers!" Brick was yelling.

I raced and was able to tackle him. Boomer who was following behind couldn't stop in time which resulted in him running into me which sent all three of us for a spin to the ground. I landed in a sandwich between my two brothers, but it didn't hurt. We took one glance at each other and then started laughing at how stupid we looked. One by one, we got up as we dusted ourselves off and then began to chase each other again.

My eyes then widened as I suddenly noticed that Boomer and Brick weren't with me anymore.

I looked around me and then saw them a few feet ahead at a park. Brick was on the swings, giving Blossom a push to get her high in the air and Boomer was blowing bubbles with Bubbles.

"Hey…"I started to say as I tried to make my way toward them. "…wait for…" and at that moment, two big gigantic cracks appeared between me and my brothers, separating us.

_No, this can't keep me! I can fly! _I thought only to then look at myself and see that I was dressed as regular plain Yoshi, except that my belt was missing.

"**Why aren't you like your brothers?" **I flinched as I turned around only to see people behind me.

"**Why aren't you like your brothers?" **I then turned back to my front and realized that I was surrounded.

"**Why aren't you like your brothers?"** No… **"Why aren't you like you're brothers?"** Please… **"Why aren't you like your brothers?"** Stop it! **"Why aren't you like your brothers?"**

"A-Akemi! Riku! Help me!" I begged. I then saw them emerging at the front of the crowed.

"Guys…" I started, as I smiled in relief only to then be interrupted by Akemi.

"**You left us because you hate us Yoshi."** That made my smile turn into a look of horror.

"**Why didn't you tell us Yoshi?"** said Boomer. **"Why didn't you tell us that you hated us?"**

"**Why aren't you like your brothers?"** continued the crowd around me.

"**Why do you hate us?"** continued my brothers.

"**Why aren't you like your brothers?"**

"**Why do you hate us?"**

At this my body was twitched as my mouth tried to find its voice…

"**Why aren't you like your brothers?"**

"**Why do you hate us?"**

_No…_**"Why aren't you like your brothers**?" _no…_** "Why do you hate us**?" _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

* * *

"AH!" I yelled, as I quickly sat up and gasped for air, breathing in and out while I felt beads of sweat roll down my face. I quickly glanced around to see where I was, only to see Dai and Shou, who were snoring rather loudly and mumbling some weird stuff that I could barely catch…

Shou was clumsily swinging his fist and sifting his body to the other side, while mumbling things like "ha, take that…and…that…" before snoring.

Dai was hugging his pillow and…was he trying to kiss it? "Hmmm, Midori..."

_What…the...that is just wrong..._

ANYWAYS, MOVING ON!

Apparently they were heavy sleepers since it seemed that my yell hadn't woken them. I then remembered where I was. _That's right. I'm at Kaoru's house. Nothing to worry about._ I tensed a little as I remembered what I had just seen.

_Good, it was just a dream._ I sighed in relief. I then glared in annoyance. _Yeah right, that was more of a nightmare that was too realistic for comfort!_

I looked at the alarm clock. To my surprise, it was only 3am! It wasn't even anywhere near time for me to get ready for school. I got back into my futon as I tried to go back to sleep, only to be failing miserably. _Greeeeeeeat, just what I need: an interrupted sleeping pattern._

The nightmare played back through my head which made me blink hard in order to make me snap out of it. _Then again, do I really want to go back to sleep?_

_**Why do you hate us? **_

_I don't really hate you._

_**Why aren't you like your brothers?**_

_I don't know._

I flipped to my side as I pulled the covers to my head. _I just don't know anymore._

* * *

As I figured, due to haven woken up way too early, my sleeping pattern got interrupted and therefore I didn't get what one would call a good night's sleep. No, scratch that, even if I hadn't woken up, having to go through that nightmare was bad enough that I might as well say that I didn't get any good sleep AT ALL. The point I'm trying to make? I was REALLY not in the mood for the day's activities. I hardly felt myself get ready for school and it wasn't until Kaoru's father popped up at the table that I remembered that I wasn't even in my own house anymore and that the fact that I had seen the famous wrestler Tokio-sama yesterday wasn't part of some wonderful dream before last night's nightmare. Then of course, I remembered what had happened yesterday with my brothers and my happy thought turned into a depressing one. Needless to say, I was staring off way into the blackness of my mind during breakfast and maybe it was better that way for me. I don't know, it's just that the Matsubara family was so loud at breakfast, and I don't mean "loud" as in "annoying loud". I mean "loud" as in Kaoru and her brothers were having a sibling conversation where it seemed as if one was teasing the other, Mr. and Mrs. Matsubara were flirting with each other, and then the Matsubara siblings would gaack and sweat drop at the seemingly romantically sweet yet disturbing behavior of their parents. In a way, it was…

…friendly…

…too friendly.

_Is every house like this?_

"Yoshi, don't forget your lunch."

_Huh!?_ I snapped back to reality. I had hardly noticed that I was near the front door and that breakfast had been over and done with.

_When did that happen?_

"Yoshi?"

I then looked up and saw that it was Mrs. Matsubara holding a bento box. She seemed to be looking at me with a smile that was full of concern. I wonder how this woman smiles when she's mad.

I looked up at her and then looked at the box.

"Here" she said, handing me the handkerchief wrapped meal. "Eat this during lunch at school." She then smiled some more.

"T-Thanks" I said quickly, before I went out the door. For some reason, I couldn't look at Kaoru's mom in the eye. I don't care if people thought I was cold, it's not as if there was a mother-like figure of any sort at the Professor's house. I heard that he had a wife, but maybe if she wasn't up in space (literally in space), this kind of thing wouldn't have been much of an issue.

"Hey, Yoshi, wait up!" I had just taken 10 steps from the house when I heard Kaoru behind me.

Personally, I didn't care to turn around and I instead continued on walking, except now I was walking a bit slower for their sakes.

"Kaoru, don't forget your lunch too." It was Mrs. Matsubara. "Today's your favorite egg and eel."

"Egg and eel!? Can't miss that!" I could then hear Kaoru's footsteps turning around hurriedly in the opposite direction from where I was walking, before they went running back to where I was.

"Have a nice day at school you two."

"Hai okaa-san." Kaoru called back before walking next to me.

I turned my head around and away from Kaoru's view. For some reason I was getting irritated, and I had the feeling that I didn't want Kaoru telling me why.

* * *

School was pretty much normal. I had been nervous at first that my brothers would bump into me one way or another, but that didn't happen. It was rather easy to avoid them too since we were in different classes, though I did panic a little when lunch time came around and I stayed in the classroom to eat my lunch, hoping that my brothers wouldn't pass by. Thankfully they didn't, though it felt weird to eat without them. Even weirder still was the fact that, just as I was taking the first bite of food, Kaoru had chosen to eat with me. I was fairly certain that I had stated that I didn't like her.

"Stop looking at me like that" Kaoru saw the look I gave her. "Don't tell me you're still mad about me dragging you to my house yesterday."

_Yes…yes I am. I am still VERY MAD about yesterday._

"Even though you got to meet your wrestling hero?"

_Ok, maybe NOT "VERY" mad…but still ticked off. Anyways, what you doing here?_

"If you're wondering, Miyako and Momoko said they were busy eating with someone else. Their boyfriends to be exact."

I had stopped chewing and had swallowed, so I decided to just speak for the hell of it. That and this silent conversation was starting to feel awkward.

"Hmm…They actually got boyfriends? Who?" I said before I took another bite and started chewing. I mean, really, I was actually curious at which people that go to this school would, in their right minds, -date those two girls who seemed to be one of the last people to be able to get in a romantic relationship, especially Momoko.

Kaoru looked at me quiet hesitantly, like I was soon to be the most unfortunate soul in Japan.

_What?_

"Do you REALLY want to know?" She asked.

I raised my eyebrow, prompting her to tell me. Because in all honesty, I needed to know which guys would be crazy enough, mental even, to go out with those two, so that I could find them and actually see if they were normal.

Kaoru looked at me like she reeeeaaaaallly didn't want to tell me.

_WHAT ALREADY?! ARE YOU TRYING TO MESS WITH ME!? JUST TELL ME!_

"Your…brothers…"

At that moment, I was sadly just about to swallow what I had of food in my mouth, so instead of taking the route to my stomach, it took the wrong turn that left me practically choking, and the people around us wondering what just happened and whether or not I needed help.

"YOSHI! Breathe, breathe!" Kaoru said, hitting me on the back. That actually made me wince a little in pain, but at the moment I had bigger problems to worry about. I quickly drank a bottle of juice that I had until it was dry. Then I tried to calm down and not raise my voice, though that proved that it would later become fruitless and that it would be impossible for me to remain silent and keep whatever comments I had in my head. So I moved onto the next best thing…I covered my mouth and quickly grabbed Kaoru's hand and motioned her to come with me. She looked at me weirdly at first, but then followed nonetheless as I dragged her in a mad dash to the roof top. Once we were up there and once I quickly made sure that the door was shut and that no one else was on there, I let go of my mouth.

"WHAAAAAAAT!?"

Kaoru covered her ears and was later digging her finger into one of them in an effort to try to bring the hearing back to them.

"Geez, you don't have to yell so loud BAKA!" She said, looking angrily at me, like she was about to hit me even.

I didn't care and it was at that moment, all Butch/Yoshi dignity-with-silence had gone BYE-BYE.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY BROTHERS ARE DATING THOSE TWO?!"

"I SAID THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO YELL!"

I quickly winced at the pain in my ears from Kaoru's yell and decided to lower my voice a little for my sake.

"Whose dating who!?" I said loudly, but not too loudly this time.

"Akemi is dating Momoko and Riku is dating Miyako."

All of a sudden, I think my dark black-blue aura of gloom could be seen emitting from me.

"How did this happen?" I finally managed to mumble.

"Don't ask me, ask them." Kaoru answered.

My loud self was fading away as I returned to normal, so I gave Kaoru a scowl. _If you think I'm going to talk to my brothers RIGHT NOW, then you're even crazier than they are!_

Kaoru just shrugged at me. "Hey, it's not like I know much of the details myself. Anyways, it's your problem if you ask them or not. Now let's head back, I want to eat my lunch." She then headed back to the roof-top door.

During the rest of that lunch period, the only thing that comforted me was Mrs. Matsubara's bento lunch. I must admit, her cooking was actually pretty good. Not that I would tell Kaoru that, though seeing from the way that she was digging into her favorite food with much enthusiasm, I don't think I had to say anything.

* * *

And it would later turn out that the Mrs. Matsubara's cooking was ALL that would be comforting me that day. Just as I was starting to calm down a little during class, the bell rang. Now at first, it didn't mean anything to me, but then I remembered what I was supposed to do after school and all of a sudden, for the first time since I began high school, I found myself actually wishing that the bell had never rang so that I could have remained in class forever.

I really did not want to go to the Professor's house. And true to that, I actually started to look around for any chances of an escape.

_I wonder what the chances are that I can jump out the second story window._

"Ok Yoshi, let's go."

_And now that option is out._

I sighed and looked over at Kaoru.

_Do I really have to go?_

Now Kaoru gave me her own look. _Yes BAKA._

I sighed again.

"Oh, just come already!" Kaoru exclaimed as she grabbed my hand and dragged me out the classroom door and out the school.

"Oi, I can walk by myself." I said as I TRIED to pull my hand away from her grip. _Damn, her grip is strong._

Kaoru just ignored my claim and continued to drag me.

"Oi, I said that I can walk by myself." I tried again, but it seemed like she couldn't hear me. So I did the next best thing. I walked faster until I was directly in front of her.

"I said I could walk by myself." I said again.

This time, she actually stopped and looked at me, like she didn't know what I was talking about. It was then that I pulled my hand up and showed her that she was gripping me. As soon as she saw, her eyes got wide and she quickly opened her grip and let my hand drop. For a while, she actually looked like she didn't know what to say.

"Why didn't you just say so!?" She yelled at me, and why was she turning red?

"I did." I said back…now actually getting a little annoyed.

" Uh…then…just hurry up!" She said, as she walked, or more like marched ahead of me.

I looked at her weirdly as I walked to keep up with her. I was wondering why she just all of a sudden stopped making sense.

I only had a short time to think about that though because before I knew it, we were in front of the Professor's house.

I looked at it as though I was a gladiator about to enter the Coliseum to my death. I then looked at Kaoru. I wanted to so much ask her, but I felt that doing so would make me sound pathetic, so I kept my mouth shut and tried my hardest to not make my expression say it all for me.

Kaoru pressed the receiver button.

"Hello" It was the Professor.

"Oi Professor, it's us." Kaoru said.

"Ah, Kaoru. Please wait a moment."

All of a sudden, we could hear some distant shuffling in the house before everything went silent.

The Professor's voice then came back on. "Ok, you can come in now."

"Thanks" Kaoru returned.

The doors opened and Kaoru and I entered. It was so silent that I could feel my guard go up as I feared that maybe my brothers were waiting somewhere to just pounce on me and that this had all just been a plot made in order to catch me. Kaoru however, broke the silence.

"Ok, so where is your room"

I ripped away from my nervous thoughts and looked at her before pointing to the direction. "This way."

We then walked up a flight of stairs until we reached my area. Akemi's and Riku's rooms were a little ways down the hall from mine. The door to their rooms were shut. I swear, I could just feel them in there, probably leaning their ears on the door to see if I was there or not.

"Ok, so pack what you need." Kaoru once again broke me from my thoughts as she started looking around for a bag to carry everything in.

"I think there's a bag in the closet." I said, as I went to go check.

Kaoru was looking around. "Wow, but you're room is surprisingly clean."

I honestly didn't know how to answer to that. _Should I say thanks?_

"Found it." I said, as I pulled out a sports bag that the Professor had bought me (along with one each for my brothers) in case we would need it someday as he had mentioned something about how high schools had field trips and camping.

"Ok then, let's get pack some of your stuff." Kaoru said, as she started to make a list of things that I would need from extra cloths, to books, to even socks and underwear.

I must admit, some of the things that came from her mouth were rather embarrassing to listen to. But we managed to finish packing nonetheless.

I looked over everything one more time and checked the mental list in my head. I had several changes of cloths, school books, wrestling DVDs that I wanted to show to Kaoru's dad about his battles, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, bath items, towel, pajamas, I-pod, etc., etc.

_Yup, I'm sure that's everything. _

We then made our way out of my room.

It was until we were down the stairs and in the living room that I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten my camera. It's not like I needed it, but I really wanted to get Mr. Matsubara's autograph and this would be the perfect chance to use it.

"I forgot something." I told Kaoru quickly.

"Then pass me your bag." She said as she actually took the bag out of my hands. And before I had a chance to question her strength, she continued. "You can run faster to go get what you forgot if you don't have this slowing you down. I'll wait here until you get back, but be quick will ya?"

I then nodded and made a dash to my room.

* * *

I got to my room and looked around until I found my instant camera that had been stashed inside a box (toy box) that was inside my closet. I searched around a little more inside the closet and also found a camera bag that had a digital camera inside, which could come in handy.

_I've got to stop putting too many things in there._ That was my thought about my habit with stuffing things in my closet as I walked out the room. I was a few steps away from my door when I paused to look over the instant camera and the camera bag to make sure that everything was where it was supposed to be. That way, I wouldn't have to go running back to my room later on.

_Yup, the instant camera still has film, the camera bag has the recharger, the digital camera has a memory chip inside, the camera bag has an extra memory chip…_

I didn't really get much of a chance to put the final "all here" on my mental checklist because all of a sudden I felt a VERY cold chill run up my spine. It's one of those feelings that you know that something bad is about to happen or when you know that someone is watching you.

Yes, they were watching me. Akemi and Riku, they were watching me. No, they were directly behind me. They were there. Who knows when it was that they managed to sneak out of their rooms, it was probably when I was looking for stuff in the closet. Actually, as much as it was frightening, if they did get out of their rooms while I was searching in the closet, they could have also been right outside my door when I left my room, but I was probably so preoccupied with making sure that I had everything that I probably didn't even notice they were even there.

Until now.

And now there they were, watching me, seeing what it was that I would do. Trying to see if there was something they could say or a move they could make, but they were surely there staring at me.

I could feel myself tense. I was scared. Scared to turn around and face them. I didn't want to see their faces. I didn't want to see their expressions, their expressions of disappointment, hurt, and confusion that I had given them after yesterday's incident. I didn't want to see them. I was too scared to see them.

So I didn't turn around. Honestly, I could have easily reflected their faces off the lenses of my instant camera, but I couldn't even do that. I just didn't want to see what they thought of me. It was bad enough that that bastard (aka: shadow-soul) had said everything that I had been trying to hide from them until then. I knew that I couldn't keep it hidden forever, and I knew that sooner or later I would be found out, heck Akemi was starting to get his suspicious seeing as how he was about to question me yesterday. But I didn't want to get found out like that. I really did not want them to have realized my feelings about everything in that manner. That wasn't the way that I had wanted things to turn out.

As I stood there, frozen solid, half of me hoping that my brothers would leave and the other half telling me that I should hurry up and get moving, a little part of me (a VERY tiny part) was kind of anxious for them to say something, just something that would let me know that they were disgusted with me. I at least wanted to know that everything would be alright.

"Yoshi, what is taking you so long?! Hurry up!" That was Kaoru who was starting to get impatient with her waiting.

_Thank You Kaoru! _That was my actual sincere thought at the moment. Yeah, I couldn't believe I had just thanked her either, but at that moment, her yell was exactly what I had needed to get me walking again and hurry up out of there.

I started to make my way towards the stairs.

"Come home soon." That was Riku's voice.

Hearing that, I quickly paused while in the middle of taking a step with my right foot. Only the back of it was touching the floor.

"Then let's talk." That was Akemi.

"Oi, Yoshi! I'm growing a beard over here, we don't have all day!" And that was once again Kaoru.

"Hai!" I said back, specifically to Kaoru's yell.

Before I finished taking the step though, I thought a little at my reply, and smiled to myself as if to assure what I was about to do.

"Hai." I said, and this time, specifically to Akemi and Riku.

I didn't know how exactly they took that, or if they even knew that that second one was meant for them, but suddenly I felt as if a huge weight had been taken off of my chest. I finished taking the half-way step with my right foot as I continued on down the hall and down the flight of stairs where Kaoru was waiting in the living room with my stuff, a little impatient and probably a little cranky.

"What took you so long?" She asked me, obviously a little annoyed, as she looked at me.

I shrugged.

She continued to look at me.

"Something wrong" She finally asked.

"No" I said as I shook my head. I could then feel myself move my mouth muscles until it formed a small U.

It didn't really bother me, but at the moment, she was probably wondering why I was smiling, especially in front of her.

* * *

It wasn't as if I was ready to go back home yet, but I was at least ready to try changing myself.

* * *

**Me: OK! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.**

**Police: So, ready to go to jail now?**

**Me: Cop, please! Can I at ****least**** answer my reviews first?**

**Police: Fine, go ahead.**

DEVIlishAngel00: OwO I love the green pairings too. And thank you for reading up till now, seeing as how it takes so long for me to update. I'm glad to see that the way I'm writing Butch's character is good.

AlexaRainForest: I'm glad that you liked it. I feel rather good knowing that someone almost fell off the couch laughing at my last chapter. )83 Maybe I should go for that more often? Either way, thanks.

Guest: QwQ Thank you so much for your review. It makes me happy to know that people like you like what I write (I was actually teased about this in middle school). That's why I wish to not leave this story mid-way.

LoveJune08Forever: TTwTT I'm glad that you like my story, and I'm very sorry that I took so long since your last review to update. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to fix my updates problem.

**Me: 8D Ok, I'm done.**

**Police: Ok now, let's go.**

**Me: Muah ha ha ha ha! NEVER! *pulls out a puff of smoke and disappears from the place***

**Police: W-WAIT WHAT?! Where did she go!? GET BACK HERE DAMITT!**

**Me: *From somewhere that can't be seen* Ha! I'd like to see you try and get me! Muah ha ha ha ha!**

**Me: Please look forward to my next update. Peace and Out.**


	12. Butch's Past, Part 7!

**Hey guys! I'm back. Q^Q And I'm sad. I barely got any review for the last chapter. Q-Q I was starting to wonder if people actually hated my story now or something. Anyways, I'm sorry for taking so long to update. College is busy-work…and all that busy work caused me writer's block again. I really need to search if there is a cure for that. Anyways, here is a new chapter. Please enjoy! **

* * *

"I'm going to do my best…whoo hoo…" That was me doing what, to a normal person, would have sounded like a half-assed attempt at yelling.

Now, you may wonder what on earth was Yoshi/Butch doing on a GOD FORSAKEN BEACH, at the SHORELINE with the waves rushing through my feet and up to my knees while supposedly trying to yell some rather cliché lines.

"Come on Yoshi! You call that yelling? I've seen better yelling from my Grandma!" And that there was the reason why I was here in the first place, just one simple word. Dai.

Well, more like Dai, Shou, and Kaoru…but mostly Dai.

Dai was the one who had suggested something about how a before training oneself to have a strong body, one must have a strong mind. Yelling was apparently one of the many ways of doing this by showing the strength in one's mind while pouring out the soul. The beach, according to Dai, was a way to add encouragement with the waves, the water, sand, and overall scenery.

"THIS is how you yell!" Dai said. "WE ARE GOING TO MAKE YOSHI A MAN, A STRONG MAN! Now then, try that again! Let's hear you ROAR!"

Honestly Dai, wasn't this just plain silly?

"Roar?" I tried, though that more came out as a question rather than a statement.

Thankfully, I had been allowed to wear a pair of sweat pants (that were rolled up to my knees) and a sweat shirt. To wear trunks while doing this would have been just plain embarrassing and it was too cold to be wearing them anyways. Also, thanks to the cold, there wasn't anyone else on the beach, so no one would be taking pictures to post on facebook, or recording this to post on YouTube, or telling their kids to not look at the group of weirdoes that were yelling to the ocean for no apparent reason.

Dai was looking at me as if I was a sad case. "Kaoru! Shou! Teach this poor boy here how to ROAR!"

Oh yeah, Kaoru and Shou were also there.

After they had 'roared' to the almighty god of the ocean…who probably didn't care…Dai looked at me like he was expecting me to do the same as they had done.

I looked at him and then at the sea.

_Really, can't we just do this some other day…if not NEVER? How do I get myself into these things?_

Maybe I was admitting too much of a dark gloomy aura because all of a sudden, Dai got a little sympathetic and decided to call it quits for the day.

_Thank God._

"So what was this for again?" I asked.

"Dai told you, it was to make your mind stronger before training the body." Kaoru answered.

"That, and it's fun." Shou added.

"…" I didn't say anything back. _What is wrong with these people?_

* * *

As one could have later guessed, the training wasn't going so good.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

**Jogging!**

"Yoshi! Hurry up!" Dai was telling me. Would you believe that the Matsubara siblings were about 15 yards ahead of me? Not only that, they were running at a fast speed. I also hope that it that is was just my imagination, but after Dai told me to hurry up, I could have sworn that they were picking up the pace and therefore widening the gap.

_You_

*pant*

_Must_

*pant*

_Be_

*Pant*

_Kidding_

*pant*

_ME!_

**Sit-ups!**

"Come on Yoshi!" Kaoru was telling me, as she was holding down my feet with such strength that it was starting to actually hurt.

I struggled, but managed to do another sit-up.

"25! Great, that's it! Just keep it up!" Kaoru tried to encourage. "You only have 75 more to go before starting on the Push-ups!"

_GROAN!_

**Sparring!**

"Ok, so Yoshi, we have to see what level you're on." Dai was explaining. "In order of strength, it's Shou, Kaoru, me, and Dad."

I nodded that I understood.

"Ok then, so first, we're putting you up against Shou. Shou, you're up." Dai continued.

"Ok!" Shou answered and got in front of me in fight position.

"Then get ready, get set, GO!" Dai shouted.

It didn't take a minute for Shou to hurl at me like a mad dog and get me pinned on the ground.

"Ow." That was what I said as quietly and as seemingly emotionless as possible.

In reality, on the inside, I was going more like this…

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THIS KID!?_

"Oi, Yoshi! You ok?" Kaoru asked me. I was hoping that she hadn't figure out my real reaction.

Dai sighed. "We have a long way to go."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Overall, between this and school, I didn't really know what sucked more. I had been living with the Matsubara family for 5 days, and I had made NO PROGRESS at all!

I was not happy.

Also, the way that the Matsubara family acted around the table during meal times also bothered me to some extent.

Oh, and just to add the cherry on top, every night I was suffering from nightmares.

That just made my mood all the more sour, though I tried my best not to make it show.

Sometimes I would try to spend as long as possible in the bathroom, just to get some peace to myself, but the comfort in that was starting to wear down a little.

And so, it was on a day before the weekend, right after school that I decided to use some sort of excuse to go outside and take a walk by myself. Well actually, I didn't really go that far from the building. In fact, I didn't go anywhere away from the building at all. I figured that the best place to be at peace would be at the apartment building rooftop, so through a series of stairwells, that was where I ended up going. Then I saw that there was a small area on the roof top, where the door was connected, that was higher still. So I climbed the ladder, got on top, and laid down.

Free at last.

For a while, I just laid there, looking at the sky and then I started to try to organize my thoughts.

_Must be nice to be a cloud, they don't have much to worry about except to just go with the flow of the wind. _

I sighed at the thought.

_I don't want to go back home, but I don't want to go back down there either…and chances are the rest of the world isn't much different. _

For some reason, I then couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

_Heh, funny, it's a little cold out here and yet for some reason I'm feeling rather stuffy._

My grin was still on my face…if you could call it that. To an outsider, I probably looked like a sadistic psychopath.

_The school is stuffy, the Professor's place is stuffy, Kaoru's place is stuffy, the whole world is stuffy. It sucks._

I then stopped grinning and looked emotionlessly at the sky again and noticed birds flying around.

_Maybe if I stay here long enough, the vultures will think that I am dead, come to eat me up, and then fly away with me in them._

I then closed my eyes and imagined that scene.

"So this is where you were."

Only to have the vision of that scene brutally murdered by a voice that I knew oh so well.

I opened one eye, the one that wasn't covered by my hair, and looked at Kaoru without even bothering to move my head or the rest of my body.

"So, what's wrong this time?" She asked me.

Holding back the chance to spin around and give myself away, I just glared at her, challenging her to try to tell me why she even dared to think that something was wrong.

"Did you know that when something's bothering you, you always tend to aim for high places?"

Now THAT caught me off guard as my eyed widened.

"Yeah…" Kaoru continued. "I mean, rooftop…a mountain…that kind of stuff."

_Note to self: Next time, go to the woods. Maybe I'll encounter a bear before this woman finds me._

I then continued to look at her, still refusing to say anything.

She continued to stare at me.

And for a short while, we were locked in a staring contest, until I had to shamefully blink, and so I looked away.

"So when exactly are you planning to actually talk to me instead of giving me this silent treatment?" Kaoru asked.

I decided right then that I didn't like the way this conversation was going, so I stood up and got off the door ceiling before starting to make my way off the building all together.

"Well, if you don't want to talk to me about it, you could always just talk with your brothers and…"

"Don't!" I quickly spun around and yelled. Kaoru looked at me, knowing that she had just stepped on a bomb shell. I then calmed down a little. "It's nothing."

Kaoru didn't back down. "How can you even say that it is nothing when it isn't!? All this time, you've been acting moody. You haven't improved at all! How long are you planning to actually continue like this…"

I didn't get to hear the rest of what she was saying because at that moment, my inner mind wasn't feeling to well. I felt like it was spinning…

And spinning…

And spinning…

And spinning…

Before I knew it, I had grabbed the sides of my head in order to add pressure to a headache that was starting to form. If Kaoru was still talking, then I probably couldn't hear it well anymore because all I could hear was something along the lines of "Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah". Even so, my head just continued to feel like it was spinning…

And spinning…

And spinning…

And spinning…

_S-shut up._

_Shut up._

_Shut up!_

_SHU- _"OK, OK! I AGREE, YOU'RE RIGHT, IT'S NOTHING!" I heard Kaoru yell.

I then felt myself gasp as I snapped out of whatever it was that I had just gotten into. I could feel beads of sweat rolling down my face as breathed heavily and started to slowly remove my hands from my head.

Kaoru walked up to me and looked at me for a moment. "So, feeling better now."

She didn't look happy, so I didn't know how to answer that. Overall, I was confused at what had just happened.

"I guess not." She murmured to herself. She then took a breath of air and looked at me seriously.

"Feel lucky." She continued. "I had the desire to punch the hell out of you just now if you were."

I looked, at her, eyes wide, with a 'WTF did she just say!?' expression.

Kaoru, however, suddenly grabbed me by the shirt collar and pulled until my face was directly an inch in front of hers.

If looks could kill, the military would have been after her to use her as some sort of secret weapon because she was glaring at me…and I'll admit that it was a little scary.

"But let me just say this." She added with a fierce tone. "If you don't have the guts to actually talk about your personal feelings, at least learn to control them before you do something stupid!"

She then forcibly let go of my shirt in a way that pushed me back a step or two. For a while, I stood there, with absolutely no idea of what she meant by what she had told me.

"You're going to stand there all day or something? You still have practice today, now HURRY UP!" Kaoru yelled.

I flinched a little. For some reason, it was now obvious that Kaoru was officially angry…and at me.

* * *

The trip back down to the Matsubara apartment felt awkward. Kaoru and I were more distant towards each other than usual. Who knows how long it would have remained that way if it wasn't for the fact that Mrs. Matsubara greeted us when we opened the door and noted that my pony-tail was a little crooked.

Well, I guess that's what happens when you lie down on a hard floor and add everything else that happened afterwards (with the hands on head and Kaoru grabbing and pushing and stuff).

"Hang on a minute; I'll go get you a brush." Mrs. Matsubara said as she went to get me a brush so that I could fix my ponytail.

"Hurry because we have to leave soon for exercise." said Dai, who happened to be there at that moment along with Shou and even Mr. Matsubara.

It didn't take long for Mrs. Matsubara to return with the brush.

"Thanks." I said, as she handed me the brush.

I then proceeded to take off the hair tie that held my pony tail together and let my hair loose. By the way, my hair had gotten a little bit longer, about 3 or 4 inches past my shoulders when my brothers and I grew older looking.

It was at that moment that pretty much the whole room went silent and I could then feel all stares turn in my direction.

I looked back at them with a confused expression. "What?"

As if this day couldn't get any weirder.

Oh, never mind, scratch that last thought because it then just did, as Dai was inspecting me.

_What the heck was he looking at?_

The rest of the Matsubara family just kept looking at me.

"You have pretty hair." Mrs. Matsubara finally commented.

_Uh…thanks? _I really didn't know of that was something that I should have said out load.

It would later turn out that I would be spared from having to say anything because at that moment, Dai spoke.

"Ok, it's decided!" He said, as he tapped this left fist over the palm of his right hand, before looking at me again. "There will be no practice exercises today."

I continued to look at him, wondering to what point he was trying to get. Maybe he finally gave up?

"Instead…" He continued and then pointed at me. "Yoshi, we're going to get you…A HAIRCUT!"

_A WHAT?_

"Oh, you're going to a hair salon?" Mrs. Matsubara seemed to be up for the idea. "Then Dai, can you please come with me for a minute?"

"Um…sure…" Dai said as Mrs. Matsubara took him to a part of the apartment that was out of our view.

A few minutes later, Dai came back out. Mrs. Matsubara was right behind him with her purse.

"And here is some money so that you can go to the hair salon." Mrs. Matsubara said quiet happily.

"Thanks mom." Dai said, as he took the money and put it in his pocket.

"So, do I tie my hair back?" I asked.

"What? Oh sure, go ahead." Dai said, as he remembered that I was left in confusion with my hair down.

I then proceeded to brush my hair and tie my pony tail back up, which earned a couple more uncomfortable stares. Just what the heck were they looking at exactly that was so weird?

"Ok then…" Dai said, after I had finished "Shou, Kaoru, let's go!"

"Why do we have to go too?" Kaoru asked. I wonder if she was still angry with me.

"Because, it's a group thing." Dai answered. "Anyways, let's go."

"Fine." Kaoru gave in and started to head back outside.

Shou followed her, I went out after Shou, and Dai came out last to make sure that we were all outside.

* * *

**The House of Hair Salon**

That was what we were standing in front of sometime later. Somehow, the place seemed suspenseful.

"WHAT!?" Kaoru's voice rang as I turned to look at her. She was staring angrily at Dai. "THAT is why you brought me HERE?!"

What was THAT about?

Dai was trying to calm her down. "Well, you see, it was mom's idea, so you have to."

"NO! Absolutely NOT!" Kaoru yelled, standing her ground. "I am NOT going to go in there to get my hair styled!"

Ah, so that's what the problem was.

"Kaoru, mom said that you have to. She doesn't want to see you wearing your hair spiked up anymore." Dai tried again, getting a little serious.

"And if I refuse?" Kaoru asked, still refusing the idea of getting a new hairstyle.

"Mom said that she'd make you give up any sports activities at school until you graduate from high school." was the answer to her question.

It was then that Kaoru started to sweat drop a little.

"And you know that she isn't bluffing." Dai added.

"Mom never bluffs." Shou whispered to me. "In fact, even though she's nice, she may as well be the scariest person in our family. She always knows what to threaten us with."

_Yikes_

Apparently, it must have been true because Kaoru started to sweat a little more before she finally gave in.

"Alright! Ok! I'll get that STUPID haircut!" She yelled before storming inside.

The rest of us wearily followed after her.

* * *

Once inside, Dai talked to the desk person.

"We're here for two haircuts." He explained. "One is for the girl here and the other is for the older boy."

"Ok, we have two hair dressers available at the moment, so they will be with you shortly." She answered.

The two hair dressers came…two women actually. They introduced themselves, and agreed that one would take the boy while the other took the girl.

"Wait, wait, WAIT! That's the boy!" Dai exclaimed.

Apparently, the one who said that she was going to take the girl was starting to take me instead. Likewise, the one who said that she was going to take the boy was starting to move towards Kaoru. Kaoru and I had very baggy clothing on, so that had not helped our case.

Taking that information in, they looked at us and quickly apologized before taking the right one to their area. Before we separated, however, Dai told the ladies what exactly he wanted for both of us.

"So as you can probably guess, for the boy, I want you to give him a hairstyle that makes people know that he is a boy." Dai was saying.

I was trying my best not to speak from feeling insulted.

"His hair is sort of long, so for an idea, I want it cut short and maybe spiked or something?" Dai continued.

The lady nodded and told him that she understood and would do her best to make me look cool.

Dai then looked at the other hair dresser. "For the girl, as you can also guess, I need her to lose the spikes. Also, she doesn't use any common hair products and I highly doubt that she barely combs it to begin with, so it is kind of badly managed. Can you by any chance straighten her hair and fix it in a way that she can fix easily by herself in the mornings?"

"We'll need to wash her hair though." The lady noted.

"That's ok, just get it fixed." Dai said. "Oh and could you also suggest me a hair product that she can easily use? She's not that active in the morning and I highly doubt that she'll want to style her hair in any way that takes too much work."

The girl nodded and also said that she would do her best.

After that, Kaoru was being led to the hair washing area. I didn't have much time to look as I was also dragged to a chair. Honestly, I wasn't scared, but I was a little nervous. I mean, come on! This was my first time in a hair salon having my hair near scissors. Can one really blame me?

"So you see this person in the mirror?" The lady said to me.

I nodded.

"Well, take one last good look." She said as she turned the chair opposite of the mirror. "Because you won't be seeing him again."

She then proceeded to tie a cloth around me and get take off my hair tie.

"Now then, let's loosen your hair…wow!" She exclaimed as my hair went down. "Your hair is pretty and a little long too, but no matter. Just relax and close your eyes as I do my job. By the time I'm done, you won't even recognize yourself anymore."

Should I have been eager at that last comment?

* * *

…

* * *

Some time passed.

"Ok, we're done!"

My hair stylist was finished with whatever she had done to my head. Whatever it was, I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know. My head felt a little light and I was hoping that she hadn't given me a crew cut or had just shaved me bald all together.

"Now then, I'm going to turn the chair and then you can open your eyes."

I then felt the chair being turned.

"Ok ready?"

I nodded.

"Now open your eyes!"

I opened my eyes and for a moment I thought that it was one of the Matsubara siblings that was in the mirror. A while later however I realized that it was me. Honestly, my hair was not only now cut way shorter, but it was also spikey. The only thing that was different between me and the Matsubara siblings was that the hair lady had still left my shy-eye.

"Wow!" came Dai's voice. "You actually look really good now. I highly doubt that people won't mistake you for a boy anymore after this."

"You look great Yoshi." Shou commented behind Dai.

It was then that I decided that I liked this hairstyle and opted not to complain about it.

The cloth was taken off of me as I continued to look at myself in the mirror.

"So, do you like it?" The lady asked me.

"Yes." I answered as I smiled rather gently. "Thank you."

For some reason, her face went red.

While I was enjoying my new look, I heard Kaoru groan behind me.

"You don't like it?" Kaoru's hair dresser was asking, looking rather worried.

I couldn't see Kaoru well enough to know why she was groaning. Dai then appeared behind them, which made the view even worse, and looked at Kaoru.

"No, trust me, that is actually good." He explained. "My sister just doesn't like looking girly, she's a tomboy, but it was decided that she would no longer wear her hair spiked. This new look was exactly what I going for. Thanks."

The lady nodded that she understood, and felt relieved to know that she wasn't in trouble. She then moved away from Kaoru as Dai also stepped to one side. This finally gave me a good view of what Kaoru now looked like…

…

…

…

One looked was enough to actually make me freeze. Kaoru looked like a…oh I don't know…a GIRL now. She actually looked like a girl. Her hair was straight and the tips were about 2 centimeters away from touching her shoulders.

"Kaoru actually looks like a girl!" Shou exclaimed.

"What was that!?" Kaoru yelled, and prepared to hit him, only to turn her direction to me.

One look was also all it took before Kaoru froze in surprise. I guess she also couldn't believe what I now looked like.

In a way, now that I think about it, it was as if Kaoru and I had gotten our hairstyles switched, though it wasn't as if I had been wearing my hair loose, but you get the idea. The only difference was that she didn't have a shy-eye and I did.

Dai was overall pretty impressed with how things had turned out and the hair product that was suggested to him for Kaoru was also pretty good and affordable, so he turned to the two hairstylists and asked them how much the price would be for the day.

The lady who had cut my hair looked at me before looking back at him and said. "Oh, I'll give it to you for free if this guy here tells me his phone number.

_What the heck just happened?_

My mind was now getting confused. _Was I just getting hit on? And by a girl this time?_

I however did not feel like wanting to give her my number. Firstly, the way she had said it sounded creepy, almost like what Boomer's fangirls sounded like when they were around him. Secondly, I did not have a cellphone to begin with and like hell that I was going to give her the number to the Professor's house.

Having no experience with what to do in this situation, I did the only best thing that I could do. I looked at Dai with a look that begged for help.

Dai caught the look and tired his best to help me.

"Alright, calm down." He said smoothly and calmly, though I could see that he had a sweat drop. "Let's not tease the kid okay? He's already been through so much with changes, maybe some other time?" He tried to convince my hair stylist to leave me alone.

She looked at her workmate and then looked at Dai before saying.

"Ok, we'll leave him alone for now, but instead…"

"How about we instead get your number?" Kaoru's hairstylist finished that sentence before both girls were on both of Dai's sides.

Now it was Dai's turn to sweat drop.

"Well…uh…you know…that would be fine and all…but…" Dai stuttered before changing the subject. "So…how much did you say that it would be? 9 dollars for Yoshi, 12 for Kaoru, and 19 for the hair product? That would be 40 dollars in total right? Oh, and here's a two dollar tip for each of you."

Dai then placed the money quickly on the counter before quickly putting Shou on his back, grabbing Kaoru and my hands, and then making a prison break for the exit. He ran pretty fast, so the girls weren't able to go after us.

* * *

"Wow Yoshi, that hair style suits you." Mrs. Matsubara commented, looking at me.

Dai, Kaoru, Shou, and I had just arrived back at the Matsubara apartment.

"Kaoru…*sniffle*…my Kaoru…*sniffle*…now looks like THIS!" Apparently Mr. Matsubara was now highly touched by Kaoru's new look…he was actually crying tears of joy.

Mrs. Matsubara was looking quite happy at how well her plan had worked.

Dai and Shou were now making fun of Kaoru now looking girly.

Kaoru was telling her brothers to shut up.

Mrs. Matsubara was telling Kaoru to mind her manners and for her brothers to better themselves by not teasing their sister…all while still smiling.

Who knows what was truly behind that smile because the Kaoru stopped yelling and her brothers stopped teasing, but one could be sure that they were gulping nervously.

Mr. Matsubara was still bawling his eyes out for joy and now recalling memories of what Kaoru was like when she was a little kid.

Kaoru was telling her dad to please not tell embarrassing stories.

Dai resumed with the teasing because he also remembered what Kaoru was like when she was very young and just born.

Shou was taking an interest in embarrassing baby stories about his sister.

I just stood there, a foot or two away, quietly watching.

"Ok, so today, we're having red bean rice!" Mrs. Matsubara said happily. "In order to celebrate Kaoru and Yoshi's new looks."

The rest of the Matsubara family cheered.

That pain in my chest was starting to go off again. I didn't like it. I didn't want to be there. I didn't like the feeling.

"Yoshi…" Mrs. Matsubara started. "You'll also be having some right…"

I have to get away from here. I have to get away.

"Yoshi, are you ok?" Dai asked suddenly. He looked worried.

At least, I think that was Dai. I didn't realize it quickly, but my view of the Matsubara family had just fogged up a little.

"Yoshi, did you hit yourself somewhere?" Kaoru asked, now looking a bit worried.

She started to put a hand out towards me, and that was enough to scare me.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" I quickly yelled, pulling myself away from her hand's reach. _Please don't tell me what is wrong with me._

I then felt water running down my face, and then realized that I was had just been, and was still actually crying. The fact that I was just seen crying…no, the fact that it was the first time that I had even cried for real…just that was enough to actually horrify me.

"DON'T LOOK AT ME!" I yelled again, as I covered my face, mostly my eye that wasn't covered with my hair, and then bended my knees till I was in the fetal position. I didn't want to be seen like it, it was disgusting, I was ugly. What look were they giving me right now? Were they giving me the same look that my brothers had given me?

_Please, just make it all disappear._

I then felt a hand on my head. I was scared, but for some reason, I couldn't pull myself off.

I then heard a voice.

"Yoshi…" That was actually Mr. Matsubara's voice. "It's ok for a man to cry when something is bothering them. You don't have to feel ashamed if this is your first time doing so as well as for being seen. If I may add, It also takes a real man to say what is actually on their mind when something is hurting them. That does not make one weak. In fact, it takes a lot for a man to actually admit to something that they would normally wish that other people didn't know. And take this from me, once you talk about something, you let it go, which lessens the burden, and that can only make one grow stronger."

It was surprising enough that my wrestling idol had just given me advice in my time of need…what was more surprising however was that his words were actually reaching me and were somehow working to a certain extent.

"Why…" I started, still not daring to show my crying face despite what Mr. Mastubara had said. "Why would you still even bother with me?"

The Matsubara family went a little silent. I guess they were probably staring at me, and wondering what I had even meant.

I went on. "Ever since I could remember, my brothers were the most talkative and expressive of the group, way more than me." I sighed as I sniffled. "It was really no surprise that they would make friends and get along well with everybody at school. It was no surprise that I would be alone. But I was always ok with that, because my brothers were there with me, but then we got separated into different classrooms and then I truly realized what it meant to have no one there."

Mr. Matsubara's hand was off my head and I could feel the other family members listening carefully to what I was saying. My voice was actually muffled, but it could be heard well enough.

I sniffled again. "Without knowing it, I got jealous of them, really jealous to the point where I was scared of knowing whether or not I was starting to hate them."

"Did you hate them?" Mr. Matsubara asked me.

"NO! I didn't!" I muffled a yell. "But…I was scared of telling them that. I didn't want them to hate me because of my jealousy at how well things were going for them. And then they found out in a way that they shouldn't have. And then I didn't want to go home anymore, so Kaoru brought me here…but."

I paused a little as I tried to figure out the best way as to what I was about to say next. Then again, I was wondering whether or not I should continue at all.

"Yoshi, don't be afraid of what you have to say. Continue." Mr. Matsubara urged me.

I took a deep breath. "It started to get uncomfortable. I was never used to an atmosphere like yours that was so family-like and where everyone laughs." I sniffled again. Apparently my crying wasn't slowing down at all. "The place started to feel stuffy. I couldn't find myself fitting in."

I then did another pause, but continued nonetheless, before I was urged again.

"And then I started to get jealous of Kaoru. Why is she allowed to have parents and a happy home life? Not only that, but she is everything that I am not. She is able to speak her mind and is strong enough to defend herself at school. But I didn't want to say anything. I don't like being jealous. I hate that feeling. It's ugly, it makes me feel disgusting." I then started to speed up. "But Kaoru is easily able to tell if something is wrong and if she got to close to me and take a good look, then she would be able to figure it out. And then if you guys knew, you would all hate me and then force me to go back home, even though I can't go back yet. And you had all been very nice to me, I don't even know if I deserve to even be here anymore, and I don't hate you at all, but with the way I was feeling I couldn't really blame you if you all started hating me because of it…"

I couldn't talk anymore. There wasn't any more to say. Anything I had wanted to tell them, I had said it. I then waited for the worse to happen…for them to kick me out.

Instead what happened was that I felt a rather strong yet gentle hand hit my back. It wasn't painful, but it did make my fetal position shake a little and I think I actually felt my head vibrate. It didn't totally break my form though, so I remained as I was.

"Idiot." Kaoru had been the one who had hit me. "What makes you think that we'd hate you just because of that?"

"Yeah, and you honestly think I'd kick you out after making a promise to help you?" Dai asked, after giving his own hit to my back. "If anything, that just adds to the agenda."

"At least now we know why you acted awkward around mom." Shou added, quiet optimistic. "That would also explain your nightmares."

_Kami-sama, they actually knew about that!?_

"And here I thought you had hated me Yoshi-kun." Mrs. Matsubara said with relief in her voice.

"Oh, and by the way…" Kaoru stated. "While we're on topic, see, this is what happens when you actually show your emotions for once, misunderstandings get cleared up."

By that point, I could already feel my tears lessening.

It was probably because I was still shaken, but the rest is a blur. I don't know how long I was there in that position or when it was that I finally went to bed, but before I knew it I was fast asleep. What I do know is that for the first time since I got to the Matsubara's house, I actually slept well, and without nightmares.

* * *

The next morning:

Good News: I actually didn't wake up way too early for once.

Bad News: I actually overslept.

Even-Worse News: That meant that everyone was in the dining room and after yesterday's stunt, I would be the center of attention.

_Kami-sama and I obviously don't have a good relationship._

That's what I was thinking as I slowly got dressed. At least my eyes weren't all red and puffy after what had happened.

_Honestly, how am I supposed to greet them? And today's a weekend, so I'll be seeing them all day!_

After fixing my hair (which was a lot quicker to do now that I didn't have a ponytail) I slowly made my way to the dining area.

_Ok, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out…_

I told myself as I slowly got closer, hoping to calm myself down in order to say a proper good morning. I stopped just behind a wall and stuck my head out. All the talking stopped as soon as I did that and all eyes were on me.

"Umm…g-good morning…" Was all I managed to say…as I felt my cheeks burn up.

"Good Morning!" The whole Matsubara family said happily.

All of a sudden I felt my whole face burn.

"Yoshi, your face is red." Shou said, as he pulled me from the comfort of my hiding spot and checked my forehead.

"Do you have a fever?" Mr. Matsubara asked.

"N-no. I-It's really nothing!" I managed to say while shaking my head very quickly. _Why on earth was I stuttering so much?_

"Ah, so it's just overall embarrassment." Kaoru grinned at me, as she said that.

I glared at her. I didn't care if I was as red as a tomato, that girl made me mad!

"Pfft, ha ha, you should really see your face right now!" Kaoru laughed. That girl really knew how to crawl under my skin didn't she?

"Yoshi-kun, would you like some eggs and bacon for breakfast?" Mrs. Matsubara asked, holding a plate of delicious food in front of me.

That was enough to snap me out of my red-face format as I nodded, took the plate, and began to eat on the table.

"Don't forget to eat a lot." Dai reminded. "We still have training today."

Again I nodded. Then I remembered something that I wanted to do.

"What time is training?" I asked him.

"In about 2 to 3 hours from now." He answered.

I calculated and finished eating.

"Can I go out for a bit?" I asked, after washing my dishes.

"Where are you going?" Dai asked, all curious and actually confused, since he probably figured it had something to do with my last question.

"Out." I said. "But I promise I'll be back in time for training." I answered quickly before Dai asked anything else.

"Kaoru, how about you go with him?" Dai asked.

"No!" I objected. All eyes were on me again. "I mean, it's an errand that I'd like to do on my own please."

Dai looked at me some more before giving a sigh. "Ok, fine, but be back on time."

"Hmm!" I nodded again.

I quickly got my shoes, left out the door, and hurried the train station.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

And here I was again at the beach. Thankfully no one was here again. I was utterly grateful for the cold weather.

I took a breath in, only to quickly let it out as my face went red again.

_ARGH! How exactly do they manage to do this!? It is soooo embaressing! _I yelled to myself while squatting, only to quickly get back up again.

_Well I said I would do this, so I'll do it and get it over with! After all, how am I supposed to get better if I can't even have a strong mind?_

Quickly I then opened my mouth and yelled. I didn't yell anything in particular, I just yelled until my breath gave away. As soon as no sound came out, I heard the waves of the sea roar back in return.

For a moment, I was stunned, as I stared at nothing in particular except for the pure ocean shore.

_Dai was actually right._ I thought, as a big smile began to then slowly form on my face. _That felt great!_

I felt my hand grip into a fist, as my smile grew wider. "Yeah!" I yelled to myself in a small victory as I pumped my fist in the air.

I then turned and made my way back to the station, feeling happy and rather accomplished. My mood then did a complete 180 when I spotted three figures behind trying to hide behind a big bolder in the sand.

Kaoru, Dai, and Shou did no attempt to try to hide once they knew I had spotted them.

_Crap! _ I felt my face turn red. _They spotted me!?_

Shou was rubbing the back of his head. "Hi…haha".

My face was turning redder as I felt my thoughts swirl.

_They saw me, they actually saw me, they saw me do THAT…so embarrassing._

"We didn't really mean to follow you or anything." Kaoru tried to explain. "We just wanted to see where you were going."

_They followed me, they actually dared to follow me._

"On the bright note…" Dai added, trying to make things sound good. "Look at how far you've gotten! Since you were able to conquer this part, then that means that training should only get better for you from here on out!"

_They followed me…and saw THAT._ I was barely listening. _How dare they…_

"Uh…hey Yoshi." Shou said nervously. "Is it too cold out here? Your face is completely red."

I looked at them.

"Ha ha…" Dai managed out a light chuckle, hoping to liven things up. "You should really see your face right now. You look so mad."

I honestly didn't care how I looked. All I knew was that my face felt hot and my thoughts were swirling with my emotions.

* * *

Normal POV:

Next thing they knew, Yoshi walked, rather calmly may I add, to a sign on the beach that said "No Fishing", grabbed the bottom of the thick wooden pole that it stood on, with one hand…and snapped it off as if it was a toothpick.

The Matsubara siblings could barely believe what they had just seen.

"O-OI!" Kaoru yelled. "That's damaging public property!" Dai and Shou were starting to shiver behind her.

"**How dare you.**" Yoshi mumbled, if you could even call it that. To Kaoru, Dai, and Shou, his voice had an echo that sounded as if an angry deity had possessed him.

Yoshi walked up a little closer. "**I just wanted a little time to myself, I even promised that I would be back on time, which I would have if I had left 5 minutes ago instead of having to be stuck here dealing with you.**" He gripped the pole of the 'No Fishing' sign harder, and took another step forward. "**Instead, you saw me do something that I would have been happier if no one had seen. Shame on you.**"

At this point, Dai and Shou were really getting scared. Kaoru was trying to stand her ground, though it was obvious that even she was sweat-dropping. Thankfully, this wasn't like what she had seen when he beat up that Shadow Soul monster. No, he was just plain out furious…and truth be told, this was probably one of the first times in his life where he was actually truly just plain angry…which did not do anything to change the fact that he was scary (Though she had to admit this time that he had a right to be).

"**Apologize.**" Yoshi took another step forward. "**You will pay…Won't you?**"

"Yes, yes! We'll pay, we'll pay!" Dai yelled in fear. He really did not want to fight against a guy with a 'No Fishing' sign who looked as if he wanted to kill someone.

"We'll treat you to a garigari pop on the way back!" Shou tried. Hey, that's what they did for apologies in his school.

Yoshi took another step forward.

"We'll also treat you to sushi!" added Dai, since no one could reject well-made Sushi.

Another step forward.

"We'll also treat you to sweets from Sakurako's shop!" Kaoru also chipped in, seeing as how that often worked with Momoko. She did not want to fight a Yoshi that had been ticked off.

Another step forward. _Damn… _Thought the Matsubara sibilings. _That still isn't enough!_

"We'll teach you how to skateboard!" Shou added, knowing that Yoshi had been curious about skateboarding.

Another step forward.

"I'll also ask mom to make all of your favorite food for Monday's lunch!" Kaoru tried again, also knowing that no matter what was said Yoshi really loved Mrs. Matsubara's cooking.

Another step forward.

"Oh by all hell!" Dai was getting desperate. "I'll also ask dad to help you with today's training…so please…JUST DON'T KILL US!"

Yoshi stopped walking. His face began to lose its redness as it went back to its original fair color. "Really? You'd do that?" He asked, rather happy.

"Y-Yes." Dai assured. "You have my absolute word on this one."

"And all the other stuff too?" He asked hopeful. "You'll really treat me a garigari pop, and sushi, and sweets from Sakurako's shop, and teach me how to skateboard, and have all my favorite foods that Mrs. Matsubara makes as my school lunch for Monday? You'd really do all that?" By now, he had a twinkle of stars in his eyes.

The Matsubara siblings nodded, not wanted to risk what would happen if they refused.

"That's great~" Yoshi was now feeling very happy while the twinkle in his eyes increased a level.

"Yes, that's great." Kaoru mumbled. "Now could you please put the sign back where it was before somebody sees us?"

"Eh?" Yoshi looked surprised, then looked at his hands that were holding the wooden pole. "Um…how did that get there?"

_You mean he honestly doesn't remember?_ The Matsubara siblings thought while sweat dropping.

"Well, that doesn't matter, we'll just explain it later." Dai said. "Now please just put it back before we get into trouble."

Yoshi nodded, and started toward the place where the sign had been only to stop quickly. "Umm…"

"What?" Shou asked.

"Could I please get some help here?" Yoshi asked nervously. "This sign is rather heavy. You sure I was the one who got this thing?"

Again, there were sweat drops from the Matsubara family. _You can't be serious._

After 10 minutes of putting the sign back in a way that wouldn't take notice, and after buying Yoshi the food items they had promised (garigari pop, sushi, sweets), and after adding skateboarding to the list of training exercises, and after explaining to their parents why Mrs. Matsubara had to make Yoshi's favorite foods for the bento lunch on Monday and why Mr. Matsubara had to help with that day's training (to which their parents did agree that following Yoshi was a rather wrong thing to do), the Matsubara siblings learned a very important lesson that day…

Never EVER make Yoshi mad.

* * *

**Ok, and that's another chapter done...and I'm still swamped with summer semester homework. Someone remind me again WHY I decide to take 14 credits during the summer (3 6-week Computer Science Classes, 1 Math Class, and 1 PE Class)? =_= Oh yeah, because I didn't have a choice. Sometimes I ask why life has to be a little harsh with me. Oh well, might as well put up with it and hope to reap some nice rewards if I manage to get a great career as Computer Software Engineer, nee? Anyways, I honestly don't know when the next chapter will come up, but I will keep updating. After all, the sooner I get this story done, the sooner it'll stop hurting my head while thinking about it every night, and that'll be one story less that'll be bothering me by keeping me daydreaming day and night, and once this story is done I can also move onto one of the other stories that is hurting me head too. Anyways, stay tuned.**

**Reply To RockAngelzBeatz: Well, thank you for reading. I hope you're content with the fact that I just happened to update on the same day of your review. TTwTT And just when I was thinking that no one had reviewed my story and was getting all depressed and stuff, I can't tell you how happy I am. Anyways, please continue to enjoy.**

**Peace and Out.**


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